Last week, I shared reasons it’s urgent that adults address anti-fat bias with children, as well as tips on how to do that. Whenever I encourage parents and teachers to take up an anti-bias topic with kids, you know I’m going to have a children’s book list to go with it! Today I’m sharing twelve must-read body positive picture books and chapter books for ages 3 – 14.
I wish that there had been books like these to read when I was tween, wishing my body were different than it was. I’m so thankful that they’re available for kids like mine, who are growing up in a time that is arguably even more weight-obsessed than my Gen X childhood.

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Body positive picture books that celebrate bodies of all sizes

My Mama Is a Work of Art by Hana Acabado
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There are many reasons young children (and adults) might think someone’s body is “weird.” Kids pick up on adults’ biases about bodies that have tattoos and/or are fat.
In this sweet book, a little boy describes to us in rhyming text the ways his mother herself is a work of art. Each of her many tattoos has a special meaning that proclaims she is “proud, out, and unashamed.”
Mama sets the example of being kind to everyone. Though people look different, each of them are also works of art. I also love that though Mama is a large woman, no direct references are made to her size. It is simply acccepted as part of her beauty. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7. Filipino-American author/illustrator.)

Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
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This joyful body positive picture book truly celebrates any and every variety that people will find in their bodies. Fast-paced rhyming text uplifts “lanky bodies, squat bodies, tall, short, wide or narrow bodies. The illustrations are packed with bodies of every variety, and especially center bodies that are marginalized by the dominant culture.
Each page spread explores a different aspect of bodies, from shape, hair (on the head and the body), eyes, noses, skin tone, and more. Not only does this book encourage children to see all bodies as amazing, it will also help adult readers question how they perceive the bodies around them. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7. White American author.)
Related post: 15 children’s books about beauty that challenge stereotypes

The Belly Book by Fran Manushkin. Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino.
Out of print (check your local library)
This sweet rhyming story celebrates the amazing bellies we all have and the varieties they come in. One of the subtle body positive details I love is that our bellies’ love of all kinds of food (“carrots and birthday cakes, tofu, tacos, chocolate shakes!”) is lifted up, without judging certain foods over others. (Recommended for ages 2 – 5. White American author.)

Lovely by Jess Hong
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This brightly illustrated book with spare text asks and answers the question “what is lovely?” Eye-catching digital illustrations of facial and body features include thick eyebrows, braces, short, round, tall, and lean bodies. Readers learn that “lovely is different, weird, and wonderful. Lovely is you. Lovely is me.” (Recommended for ages 2 – 5. Asian-American author.)
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Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki
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When looking for body positive children’s books, it’s important to find some books which simply star plus-sized characters without making their size the topic of the book. That’s exactly the kind of book Our Little Kitchen is!
In this topsy turvy celebration of a community coming together to help their hungry neighbors, a diverse collection of kids and adults of all ages, races, disabilities and sizes prepare a weekly meal. Making the meal requires a lot of strategizing in a short time, figuring out how to use the best of the community garden and various foods that have been donated. Through all the chaos, we can see that those in the kitchen and those in the dining room are bound together as neighbors who care about each other. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7. Japanese-Egyptian-Canadian author.)
Related post: How to talk to children about poverty

The Truth about Grandparents by Elina Ellis
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This book shows, rather than tells, a body positive message about living life to the fullest in a large body. A little boy tells readers that his grandparents are “really old,” but they don’t fit what people say old people are like. We see his thin bow-tied grandfather and fat red-dress wearing grandmother dancing, roller skating, kissing, doing yoga, and skillfully flipping multiple pancakes. The truth is simple and it is a joy: “grandparents are amazing!” (Recommended for ages 2 – 6. White British author.)

Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor. Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali.
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As Zubi gets read for her first day of school, she excitedly puts on her special outfit, complete with butterfly hair clips and pink shirt made with puffy sleeves that was specially made for her in Bangladesh.
But her excitement turns to confusion as she hears her Amma and Baba making disparaging comments about their own bodies. Her older sister Naya doesn’t even want to eat Dadi Ma (Grandma)’s delicious parathas because she’s on a diet. At school, she hears one child tell another that their dress makes them look fat, deepening Zubi’s confusion and sowing the seeds of self-doubt.
But when Zubi finally breaks down at home that night, her cries remind all of her family to embrace self-love and acceptance of their unique bodies. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. Bangladeshi-American, plus-sized author.)

Abigail the Whale by Davide Cali. Illustrated by Sonja Bougaeva.
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Abigail dreads swim lessons, and tries to be the last one to dive into the pool, because whenever she makes a splash the other children call her a whale. When her swim teacher tells her she’s a good swimmer, Abigail tells him she’s too heavy to be good at swimming. With some wise advice about adjusting her thoughts, Abigail begins to discover all kinds of new things, both inside and outside of the pool. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. White Italian author.)
Related post: Why social justice education starts with self-identity
Chapter books about body acceptance and body positivity

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu.
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Louder Than Hunger differs from the other books on the list because it’s about the difficult and painful experience of recovering from an eating disorder and poor body image. The novel-in-verse is inspired by the author’s own experience who spent nearly a year in a recovery center (in the 1990s) as he grappled with anorexia.
Jake’s experience of being bullied in middle school leads to him eating so little and exercising so much that even his mother, who clearly has her own mental health struggles, can’t ignore the problem. The only person who really makes him feel loved is Grandma, but the hateful voice inside him is so loud that he even begins to doubt her love. But when he lands in a treatment center called The Pines, the voice tells him that he can’t trust anyone there, because they’ll trick him into eating.
I’ve read many wonderful novels-in-verse, but part of what makes this one so special is the way Schu uses repetitions in the text to mimic Jake’s obsessive, destructive thoughts. While this is a painful story, there are many moments of warmth, care, and self-discovery that will keep readers cheering for Jake throughout. (Recommended for ages 10+. White author who has experienced an eating disorder.)

Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson
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What eleven-year-old Amara wants most for her upcoming birthday is to go with her father on his work trip to New York City and meet his family. She knows so little about her father’s family and in fact has only met one of them in person. Her mother is sure NYC is no place for a “little girl,” but Amara’s desire to know her father’s family wins her over.
While she’s there, Amara has two related missions: to complete family interviews and find artifacts for her school “suitcase project,” and to get her father and grandfather talking for the first time since she’s been born. The first mission is a lot easier than the second. Visiting so many places in her grandfather’s Harlem helps her understand things about her Black heritage that living in Oregon has never provided her.
While the book doesn’t mention Amara’s size, in an interview Renée Watson said it was important to her that the cover illustration show Amara as a fat girl. “I wanted a fat girl to be able to exist in a story that was not centered on her size,” Watson explained. (Recommended for ages 8 -12. Black American, plus-sized author.)

The Supervillain’s Guide to Being a Fat Kid by Matt Wallace
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Max hopes that middle school will be different than elementary school was, that he can blend in to the crowd and not be targeted by people who make fun of his size. But when athlete Johnny Pro starts bullying Max on the very first day of sixth grade, he realizes things are only going to get worse.
Max decides to write to his favorite supervillain, Master Plan, to ask for advice about what he would do. Master Plan is also a man of size, yet he seems so confident. Using the villain’s advice (which may cause readers to question what actually makes someone a hero or a villain), Max begins to take control of his own life and how others perceive him.
Yet even as so many positive things are happening for Max, he begins to wonder if some of the changes he’s made aren’t for the best. This highly-nuanced body positive novel is a joy to read. (Recommended for ages 10 – 14. White American, plus-sized author.)
Related post: My favorite diverse fantasy chapter books

Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and You by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth
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Sex is a Funny Word is a body positive, LGBTQIA positive, non-fiction guide to sexuality, how bodies change during puberty, gender identity, and more. The characters in the book come in bodies of all sizes and shapes. The book intersperses graphic novel style pages with longer explanations about the various topics, including boundaries around our own and other peoples’ bodies, crushes, what we like and don’t like about our bodies, and more. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. White Canadian, queer, Jewish author.)

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes
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Garvey’s Dad is constantly pushing him to be someone he’s not. According to his father, he should read less and start playing sports. When Garvey claims a second helping of his Mom’s delicious peach cobbler, his Dad claims he “stuffs himself so he’s goo slow to run passes with his old man.”
Though his father has no clue how much his comments sting, Garvey luckily has the unwavering support of his best friend Joe. It’s Joe who urges Garvey to try out for chorus, since he’s always singing. While kids hurl insults about his body size at Garvey in the school hallways, chorus becomes a place of refuge.
After a crash dieting attempt, a new friendship with a chorus classmate who is albino begins to change Garvey’s perspective on his own body. When Garvey tells Emmanuel he’s sorry he has albinism, Emmanuel tells him “this is me. Get over it.” Garvey realizes that “sounds like something I should say.”
I read this novel in verse to my 10 year old in one sitting, and he loved it. This body-positive book that centers a large Black boy coming into his own is a rare gem. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black American author.)

Starfish by Lisa Fipps
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Ellie has been bullied by other kids about her weight ever since she was five years old, but the cruel words and actions that cut the deepest are those of her mother. Ellie’s written herself a list of “fat girl rules” to try to minimize the stares and jokes, but the end result is shrinking her own mind, heart, and presence in the world.
When her father takes her to see a psychologist, Ellie is at first convinced this is another plan concocted by her mother to get her to lose weight. With patience and creativity, her therapist slowly gets Ellie to open up about how all the bullying is affecting her.
A new friendship with her neighbor Catalina also helps Ellie realize that some families truly are supportive of each other. As Ellie learns how to speak up for herself, she also embraces the image of herself as a starfish, claiming her right to take up a space in a world that says she doesn’t belong.
This insightful, compelling book should be required reading for all middle schoolers and the adults who care about them. (Recommended for ages 10 – 14. White American, plus-sized author.)
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