You Are Not Small

A Look Inside You Are (Not) Small Click to enlarge Click to enlarge Click to enlarge From Publishers Weekly Like Rosenthal and Lichtenheld’s Duck! Rabbit!, the debuting husband-and-wife team of Kang and Weyant uses the picture book form for a sophisticated philosophical debate. Weyant, a New Yorker cartoonist, draws two pudgy bearish creatures with bean-like noses—clearly the same species, but different in scale (and in color, it should be noted, though it never comes up). “You are small,” says the larger one, pointing an accusatory paw. “I am not small. You are big,” replies the smaller one, pointing back. “I am not big,” says the larger one, paw to his chest. “See?” A page turn reveals a whole gang of larger creatures just his size. “They are just like me!”...With these revelations, the creatures hone their analysis...Start a discussion on the difficulty of establishing standards—or else just read it and giggle. From School Library Journal K-Gr 2—In this endearing story, two bears argue about perspective. Each is convinced that the other is big or small in comparison to him and his friends ("I am not small. You are big."; "I am not big. See?"). Each group argues, until two other creatures (one even bigger and one even smaller) come along and shows them that they can be both big and small at the same time. The punch line at the end will have audiences laughing. This is a funny book with a good-hearted lesson to which children will easily relate. The illustrations complement the text nicely; the characters are expressive and likeable. The use of white space and large text make this a perfect book for reading aloud or for a shared lap read.—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA From Kirkus Reviews Fuzzy, bearlike creatures of different sizes relate to one another in an amusing story that explores the relative nature of size. A small purple creature meets a similarly shaped but much larger orange critter. The purple creature maintains that the orange creature is “big”; the orange one counters by calling the purple one “small.”...Eventually, these brightly colored animals learn to see things in a different way...The story is told effectively with just a few words per page, though younger readers might need help understanding the size and perspective concepts. Cartoon-style illustrations in ink and watercolor use simple shapes with heavy black outlines set off by lots of white space, with an oversized format and large typeface adding to the spare but polished design. While the story itself seems simple, the concepts are pertinent to several important social issues such as bullying and racism, as well as understanding point of view. Charming characters, a clever plot and a quiet message tucked inside a humorous tale. “Kang and Weyant bolster the accessibility of their tidy metaphor by creating sweet-looking, relatable creatures and placing them in an environment with no distinguishing features; children will have no trouble seeing themselves in the situation―and the solution.” ― Booklist “This playful take on perspective details a confrontation between two bears . . . Husband and wife team Kang and Weyant nail the concept and provide humor along the way. The story’s structure makes it an entertaining readaloud, and the dialogue between the two bears authentically captures child logic.” ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “What some parents may use as a lesson in relativity others will embrace as an encouragement to good-humored humility.” ― Wall Street Journal “[A] funny book with a good-hearted lesson.” ― School Library Journal “This picture book would be very useful to teach perspective and point-of view to young readers and touches on conflict resolution. The large font and use of white space, along with simple yet very effective illustrations, will make this book very popular as a read-aloud and for independent reading.” ― Library Media Connection “Snuggly, fun picture book about sizing the world up.” ― Common Sense Media “Small. Big. Kang’s experimentation with those words (and Weyant’s visual play) is what makes this one sing for big readers and small ones.” ― This Picture Book Life “Size matters. Or does it? And aren’t things like “big” and “small” relative concepts anyway? You bet they are, as husband-and-wife author-illustrator team Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant make clear in their debut children’s book, the spare and thought-provoking You Are (Not) Small. A furry, purple bear-like creature refuses to accept the “small” label give to him by a larger, orange creature. “I am not small. You are big,” he tells him. The orange creature calls over his similarly sized friends and declares that he’s not big, compared to them. “ You are small,” the orange creature reiterates...It’s Relativism 101 for children, and it works. Very young children firmly entrenched in the ego stage of psychological development need a story this elemental and uncluttered to drive home the notion that “it’s true for me” doesn’t make something true for everyone. Kang and Weyant pull this off without belaboring the point, and Weyant’s loose and cheerful cartoon illustrations, rendered in ink and watercolors, make it all accessible and much fun. His palette is soft and warm, and his bulbous-nosed creatures, outlined in a thick black line, are endearing. The sunny yellow endpapers are an indication that the low-key strife within the pages of the book will resolve itself quickly. It’s big fun.” ― BookPage , Julie Danielson Husband-and-wife team Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant live in New Jersey with their two daughters. You Are (Not) Small is their first children’s book. They are working on a sequel. Anna, a native New Yorker, grew up believing she was small until one day she realized that everyone else was big. She received an M.F.A. from University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, where the visual storyteller in her was awakened, forever changing the way she saw art, life, and everything in between. Besides writing, Anna loves to read, travel, laugh, eat, and nap. A cartoonist and illustrator, Christopher’s cartoons can regularly be seen in The New Yorker magazine. His cartoons are syndicated worldwide and have been featured on The Today Show , Meet the Press , and World News with Diane Sawyer . Christopher likes to think that he is both big and small. Visit him at www.christopherweyant.com. Read more