This was a cute book! I loved the bright colors. I loved that she believed in herself and her disability didn’t discourage her. I’m glad people accepted her at the end. It did end a bit abruptly in my opinion.

Surprising book, ending depicting Mara in wheelchair had me questioning my own biases and going back to re-read and check out illustrations. Highly recommended.

Mara loves to dance in a town where everyone else loves magic tricks and doing things the same way. When the school talent show comes along, she signs up to dance. Her mom and teacher make sure she knows she doesn't have to do it, but Mara is certain. What we find out when Mara is up to perform is that she uses a wheelchair. I really like the way the author and illustrated chose this moment to reveal that to the reader.

Mara is proud of her love of dance and shows the community how wonderful she is at it. But beyond that, she is confident in herself and didn't do the show for other people, but for her love of dance.

The illustrations are gorgeous, and I think the idea of bringing something different to the table is incredibly important. I thought the changing up between narration and Mara's speech bubbles was a little jarring, and they're doing themselves a disservice by leaving out the "twist" in the story - which doesn't need to be a twist, IMO - from the way they're selling it. I suppose that's on purpose, but I think it'll miss some of its target audience by doing this. I also think one of the biggest issues is that Mara admits she wants to be special. She wants to do this to stand out. Not to just be herself or share her interests with the people around her. That's not a great message.

This book shows mara going out of her comfort zone and what's “normal” to do what she wants. Which is to join the talent show. This story shows facing fears, diversity, and disability representation! We are all rooting for mara!

In this story, Mara is not afraid to follow her dreams and be her true self in a town where everyone is the same. I found the illustrations contrasted with the dullness of the town-very bright and colorful. It was a great message, and I loved the twist in the end. It was a great message about inclusiveness, and everyone can reach their fullest potential!

Thank you to NetGalley and Baker & Taylor, Paw Prints Publishing for a free eArc in exchange for this honest review.

#MightyMara #NetGalley

This book delivers a beautiful message of hope when Mara, who is in a wheelchair, defies the expectations of her friends and family and dances on stage in her wheelchair at a talent show.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the Publisher for the eARC! I like how the illustrator made Mara bright and bold colors to make her stand out- it makes everyone else look boring! I love how Mara ends up being in a wheelchair and its not disclosed to the reader until the very end- a great representation of how people with disabilities can do what their peers can do!

I'm not a person with disabilities so if this comes off as offensive, I'm sorry. I'm confused as to why everyone writing and illustrating the book won't just show Mara in the wheelchair right off the gate, or at least hint at it. I had to go back and read again just to make sure I didn't miss the wheelchair. If that means that Mara is a part time wheelchair user, that's totally fine! But in the first few pages, the readers are only showed her upper body for some reason and then she's shown lying down with no wheelchair in sight, so it was really confusing. Is it a deliberate attempt to show us "This is why people might be discouraging her from being different" because if that's the message, it would've worked even better if we get to see the wheelchair in the first place. This is just my two cents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Baker & Taylor, Paw Prints Publishing for a free eArc in exchange for this honest review.

This story follows Mara who wants to show of the things she enjoys in a town where everyone is the same. The illustrations contrast her vibrancy with the dullness of the town. I just wanted more from the story. No characters have any development including Mara. Even for a children's book, it is nice to have some depth to the characters. Cute and heartwarming, but fell a little flat.

Loved this one! Such an adorable, inclusive book in the same vein of I Will Dance by Nancy Bo Flood. You spend most of the book not knowing that Mara uses a wheelchair, because the story isn't about her being in a wheelchair. It's about having confidence in yourself to follow your dreams.

Mara is different in a town of people who are all the same. They like all the same things, and they all do things the same way. When the school talent show comes around, Mara decides to show people how being different can be good. While everyone else signs up to do magic tricks, Mara signs up to dance. Her dance may not be the same as everyone else's, but it's uniquely hers. While other people are hesitant about her decision, her mother supports her. This is a cute little picture book about embracing who you are and being yourself even if other people may not understand.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a story about Mara who lives in a town where everyone is the same and enjoys all the same things, but she's already a little bit different. She decides she wants to enter the talent show to dance. Almost everyone discourages her from doing it, except her mom, and she perseveres and does it anyway. In the end, everyone loves her dance, and yet she doesn't win the talent show, because apparently pulling an animal out of a hat like everyone else is way more impressive in her town.

I thought the illustrations were very cleverly done. I didn't realize why the townspeople thought dancing was a weird choice for Mara until the talent show, and actually went back through to check if I'd just missed it. I hadn't. The talent show was the reveal.

I'm pretty sure I'd be okay to read this book multiple times to children, especially because the message is that just because others think you can't do something doesn't mean you shouldn't try and that you won't be great at it. Overall I give this book 4.6 out of 5 stars. -

I greatly enjoyed this story. I was not expecting the “twist” in the story, and upon reading a second time found deeper perspective. Beautiful art!

I really, really love the concept of this book and the artwork is absolutely stunning. However, there felt like some kind of disconnect between the beginning half of the story and the end half. They almost felt like two different books. I adore the message, but I wish the set up was a little more cohesive with the rest of the story. I was still able to enjoy the book, but I felt like I was left wanting something more.

Short cute story that celebrates the differences in each other. A good lesson to be brave and follow your dreams. The formatting was a little funny in the Kindle version.

I liked the premise of this book (little girl has the courage to be an individual in a same-same society) far more than the execution. The illustrations are beautiful, and the message has potential to be a good one. But this is where it gets muddled.

I didn't enjoy the writing. The narrative is very disjointed, and there are abrupt switches between text, speech bubbles, and just illustrations that make reading this to a young child very clunky. Also, it seems that Mara wants to dance to be different just for the sake of being different, not because she particularly cares about dance. This book simply wasn't the right fit for my family.

Thank you to Baker & Taylor, Paw Prints Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy for my family to review.

Delightful story about Mara who decides to enter a school talent contest to show off her dancing skills. Despite receiving no support from fellow classmates or teacher, Mara forges ahead to prove them wrong.
#MightyMara #NetGalley

Review from Miss Seven: "I liked that it had a twist. I liked that the writer and illustrators were very smart and gave us a good twist. I liked that Mara was different and it showed us we could be different and that was perfect. I loved the drawings and the story, and the lesson that even if you're different you can still do things that other people can do, in your own way."

Review from Me: a good children's book that has evocative illustrations (which are very clever, when you look back through) and a lovely story. While I may have preferred a wee bit more zest or rhyme or something to the text, Miss Seven really loved it as it was (four stars from me - very good, five stars from Miss Seven - amazing). A great message in this book. A really good book, I'd recommend it to many other parents and kids.