This book is great! I love the message that you are what you think you are and that the voice in our head controls what others perceive us to be. The illustrations are also darling!

Abigail is bullied in swim class. Her classmates call her "Abigail the Whale." This makes her not want to swim and lose confidence in herself because she feels "too big" to swim. However, her teacher encourages her to imagine herself light like a fish when she swims. Abigail applies this new coping skill in many different ways throughout the day and realizes she isn't "too big" to do anything! This book has good lessons about both bullying and positive affirmations for believing in yourself. Many children's books don't represent body size diversity, so I liked that Abigail learned to love herself and do what made her happy while she ignored the bullies.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Another great addition for all elementary schools. A beautiful story about embracing who we are. Abigail is a little larger that the others in her class and that leads to name calling and sadness. This book shows how one little girl with the help of a teacher turns those negative hurtful thoughts into power. A book all kids should have access too, Loved it!!

This is a wonderful book on believing in yourself and self-esteem. Abigail does not like going to her swim class. Everytime she dives into the water she makes a big splash and the other children call her Abigail the Whale. One day her teacher tells her to imagine herself as light. From there Abigail imagines herself as water, a kangaroo, a hedgehog and more to achieve what she has to do. The illustrations are fun and vivid and the story flows very smoothly. I recommend this book for Level 2 Readers and to be read to 4+ yr olds.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A young girl hates her swim class. Every time she jumps in the pool she is teased by her peers because her large body makes a large wave. An understanding coach helps her visualize confidence: " ... we can change how we see ourselves ... and ... "offers a creative visualization technique she can use to feel bolder, more confident, and more accepting of herself" (from the publisher). Bold and vibrant illustrations perfectly compliment a story that can gently help children develop self esteem and understand the harmful effects of teasing and bullying.

Cute story with interesting illustrations and a nice theme

My daughter read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sometimes life isn't always easy. Sometimes what you need is someone to help you think of things from a different perspective. That's what happens to Abigail in this book, and amazing things happen. I loved this story because it shows how she overcame her problems by thinking differently. The illustrations add a fun and magical dimension to the story. I think this would be great in school libraries and classrooms.