Being Small (Isn't So Bad After All)

by Lori Orlinsky

Overview

Being small is the worst! No one ever picks me for their sports team and my feet hurt from standing on my tiptoes all the time. There can’t be anything good about being small…right?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643071275
Publisher:	Mascot Books
Publication date:	04/16/2019
Pages:	38
Sales rank:	1,111,787
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lori Orlinsky is a 5’ 1” (on a good day, with heels and big hair) writer, marketing director, and mom who lives in Chicago. She was inspired to tell this story after her own real-life experiences raising two little ladies. She wishes this story was around when she was growing up.

Editorial Reviews

2021-12-21
A girl and her mother talk about the problems—and benefits—of being the smallest in class in this rhyming, feel-good picture book.

Hayley pretends she’s sick because she doesn’t want to go to school. Mom sees through the complaint and asks for the real problem, and pre-K student Hayley confesses how hard it is to be the shortest. She can’t reach things her classmates can; she’s not good at sports; and she’s always picked last for games. Her mother is quick to respond that being small has good features too. Being short means she has the most legroom on a plane; she can ride in the cart at a grocery store; and she can squeeze into small places others can’t. The chat helps give Hayley, who presents White, the confidence she needs to face the class, which is diverse and inclusive: “I went to school, and I’m happy to report, / As it turns out, I like being short!” Orlinsky’s rhyming couplets flow smoothly from page to page, capturing both the tone of Hayley’s unhappy complaints and her mother’s comforting encouragement. Alexandre’s digital cartoon illustrations reveal numerous situations where being short is a hindrance (on a roller coaster or at the pool) and a help (Hayley happily plays inside a playhouse, but a taller friend is unable to fit).

A sweet mother-daughter story about loving and accepting yourself.

Kirkus Reviews