Season 5 Episode #7 Beautifully Me Book Review

Ever wondered how the subtle comments about appearance within a family can shape a child's perception of themselves? Join me as we unpack the story of Zubi, a young Bangladeshi-American girl grappling with self-worth and body image in the children's book "Beautifully Me" by Nabila Noor, illustrated by Nabi H Ali. This episode is a deep dive into the silent echoes of adult insecurities that resonate with children, and the transformation that occurs when a family confronts their unintended impact on a young mind.

Zubi's first day of school adventure and her family's eventual awakening serve as a mirror to our own behaviors and the powerful influence they hold over the young ones around us. The discussion will leave you reflecting on the importance of nurturing positive self-esteem and challenging the pervasive norms of diet culture. Through the lens of Zubi's experiences, "Beautifully Me" brings to light a message of gratitude and the intrinsic value of beauty, inspiring a celebration of diversity and the push for a more inclusive, multicultural education. Let's explore together how we can foster a healthier, more accepting world, starting with the conversations we have in front of our children.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:25

Hello again, jeba Edmonds here. Welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat. I have a wonderful book that will help you reflect with your young child in your life, titled Beautifully Me, written by Nabila Noor and illustrated by Nabi H Ali. Now, as an adult with younger children in the house, I remember thinking about words have power, words have weight and also your child will always be absorbing those words and taking it in and also internalizing how they feel their self-worth is. And before I dive into this book, I really want you to make sure that you join our global community of learners committing to celebrating diversity and promoting multicultural education. So subscribe to my channel and be part of this important movement. If you are watching me on YouTube, don't forget to hit that subscribe button. And if you're listening to this podcast live wherever you hear your podcasts, don't forget to write me a review y'all and screenshot it and tag me at Culturally Jebe, so I can give you a shout out on my future episode.

Speaker 1 1:48

I am so excited to share with you this book Beautifully Me. It talks about the main character, zubi, and she is a Bangladeshi, american girl getting ready for the first day of school. I must really love these books that talk about the energy of the first day of school. It just reminds me of how I miss teaching in the classroom. But I digress. Let's get to the book Salah Zubi Khodri, and she is talking about getting ready for the first day of school. She's got her hair done in her pigtails, she's got her beautiful butterfly clips in her hair, she's got her beautiful bangles. And when I talk about our young people internalizing how their adults in their lives view themselves, you see this young girl, zubi, and she sees her mother getting ready for the day and she looks in the mirror and she pats her tummy and she goes look at this tummy, and I quote it's too big. She says, and I quote look at this tummy, I'm getting too big. And Zubi looks and she goes why was Amma so sad? She sees her mother looking at herself and saying why is she so sad? And she gets ready in the kitchen and she sees her grandma, daddy ma, getting breakfast and her older sister, naya, is like no, I'm on a diet. So Zubi is looking at her older sister going what? Why she's so perplexed, why are you on a diet? Daddy Ma is also asking you know, I've cooked all this food and you don't want it. So, thinking about diet culture in our society and how Baba is getting ready and his mother, daddy Ma, is like, well, what about the shirt that I got you? And he's like looking at her and pointing at his belly again and then saying, oh, you know, I put on some pounds, it doesn't fit, that's not good.

Speaker 1 3:45

And so Zubi is absorbing all of these attitudes and sayings and think about you as the adult, what you are saying when you're looking in a mirror and what little ears are in the house listening to you and internalizing how they view themselves. And it goes on by. You know Zuby trying to get ready for the day, going to school and her interactions with her peers and hearing people at the playground, especially Kennedy, one of the students, commenting on this other girl and saying that Alex and I quote, you look fat in that dress. Alex's look on her face on the slide. And Zuby is looking at herself and her overalls and thinking why is looking fat bad? End quote Do I look bad?

Speaker 1 4:34

And it gets to the point where everybody's at home getting ready for dinner. You see Zuby just going. No, I don't want to eat that. I love rice, but I don't want to eat it. I'm also on a diet and the adults at the table are like what, what do you mean? And then she just pours out her big emotions of what happened at school and what she heard her ama and baba and older sister Naya say. She goes to her room just so upset. I don't want to give away too much, but I really love how the adults in the house bring it back and they say they reflect oh goodness, you saw me being. And Amma said but I'm grateful for my belly After all, it helped me carry you and bring you into the world. And Naya also saying I shouldn't compare my body and myself to others in my school and how. Baba also even said how we shouldn't define how we see each other and our perception of ourselves shouldn't be reflected on you.

Speaker 1 5:36

I love how the author Nebula said in this book you get to define what is beautiful. Whatever your body looks like, beauty is how you make people feel and that kind of things you do. She also goes on and says a beautiful person is someone who embraces who they are and helps others do the same. There is only one, zuby, and that makes you beautifully you. I just love this lesson because her mother reminds her of how she is so beautiful in her own way, as well as the meaning of her name in her own way, as well as the meaning of her name loving and understanding. And it just shows that Zuby goes on and tells her family that you are all beautiful just the way you are. This book is a great reminder of spreading that joy of beauty and seeing the beauty in all of us and all that we carry to share the world and little young people like Zuby tend to remind us and get us back to center in who we truly are, to be our full, authentic self.

Speaker 1 6:48

Grab this book Beautifully Me, written by Nabila Noor and illustrated by Nabi H Ali. Wherever books are sold. This book should be in your library, at home or at school. It needs to be on your shelf as a reminder of how truly beautiful you are. I hope you like this review. Don't forget to share this episode with someone who needs a reminder of seeing the beauty in themselves. Take care and I'll see you here same time next week. Bye, bye.