From all the way across the children’s department at the bookstore, the cover art of one book beckoned to me with its depiction of a beautiful black girl with a stunning head of hair and the words “I Am Enough” emblazoned above her in purple.

Written in simple rhyme, I Am Enough is the first book by activist and actor Grace Byers. She says she wrote it “to empower young girls against the effects of bullying,” and I think she and her illustrator, Keturah Bobo, do a wonderful job showing girls that their uniqueness is their strength.

The message of the book is straightforward: shine, sing, learn, love, dream, and grow wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever your appearance. We are all supposed to be unique, as Byers writes, “I’m not meant to be like you; you’re not meant to be like me. Sometimes we will get along, and sometimes we will disagree.”

I appreciate that Byers acknowledges that because we are all different, we will not always see things the same way. We will disagree, but we don’t have to be afraid of our differences. She adds, “I know that we don’t look the same: our skin, our eyes, our hair, our frame. But that does not dictate our worth; we both have places here on earth. And in the end, we are right here to live a life of love, not fear…”

Our worth is not dictated by our appearance—a concept of which women and girls alike need to be reminded. Byers concludes the book with all the different girls helping each other say together, “I am enough.”

It’s a picture book, and artist Keturah A. Bobo has done a wonderful job bringing the words to life.

Her beautiful children of many ethnicities, abilities, and sizes are drawn in detail, while the backgrounds are minimalistic, giving the appearance of being drawn in sidewalk chalk. The girls in the book demonstrate kindness, joy, and empathy for one another. In one illustration, three girls are running a footrace, but one has fallen. In the next illustration, the other two runners comfort the girl who has fallen, and their expressions are of caring and concern.

Bobo also includes pictures of diverse girls: a girl who happens to be in a wheelchair turns a jumprope for another girl on the playground, another wears a headscarf, and a couple of the girls wear glasses. Granted, I would like to have seen the girls with glasses jumping rope or climbing instead of reading, which plays to old stereotypes, but overall, I feel that Bobo captures the spirit of the book in her illustrations.

If there is a young girl in your life, I’d encourage you to get her a copy of I Am Enough and talk about it as you read it with her. Invite her to talk about her feelings and her dreams, and let her know that she, too, is Enough.     

Dear Reader, my intention in starting Do You Mind is to do exactly as Byers shows through the fictional children in her book—“to help each other when it’s tough, to say TOGETHER: I am enough.” I want to help create a place where we share whole-heartedly with one another, knowing that we may disagree, but remaining in conversation anyway. But I can’t create that space alone—we have to co-create it. I invite you to give feedback on my articles, comment on one another’s posts, and strike up conversations on- and off-line about the themes. In order to recognize our Enoughness, we need our tribe to encourage us, push us, and teach us. When you actively participate here—not just reading and “liking,” but participating—you become part of that tribe.

Until next time,