Curriculum Materials Center
Livingston Lord Library

Carol Sibley, Curriculum Librarian

Wanda Gág Book Award 2005

I Like Myself! written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow and published by Harcourt.

I Like Myself! is the first book to receive the Wanda Gág Book Award for the year’s best picture book to read aloud to younger children, up to age eight. 

An African American girl energetically celebrates her uniqueness. Beaumont’s rhyming text describes a confident, joyful, and silly child who appreciates everything about herself.  Catrow’s colorful surrealistic illustrations, created with watercolor, ink, pencil, and collage, playfully interpret and extend the story.  For instance, the illustration of the girl and her pet dog splashing in a bird bath adds another dimension to the text:

I may be called a silly nut
or crazy cuckoo bird—so what?
I’m having too much fun, you see,
for anything to bother me!

The book delighted preschoolers through second graders, who asked to have the book read again and again.  They laughed and giggled at the pictures and found something that captivated them on every page.  They also enjoyed the rhyming text and commented: “I like myself, too.” 

Author Karen Beaumont lives in San Martin, CA and illustrator David Catrow is from Springfield, OH.

Last modified 5/15/05 by selzler@mnstate.edu                         
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