I Can Be Anything! Don't Tell Me I Can't
by Diane Dillon (Author) Diane Dillon (Illustrator)
Perfect for graduation!
Zoe embraces all the wonders of our world and its infinite possibilities. I can be anything I want to be! she tells us, presenting herself in a range of careers. But what if you fail? asks a voice of doubt that attempts to undermine her confidence.
Bold and sassy, Zoe swats the voice away at every turn, declaring her certainty with a charisma that will encourage us all to silence our fears. Why can't a girl grow up to be President? Zoe can! When the voice of doubt continues, Zoe knows exactly what to say:
Go away, voice... I can be anything... but first, I have to learn to read. And don't tell me I can't!
Caldecott Award-winner Diane Dillon has created a winning character who defies anything to hold her back from achieving her goals. And the key to Zoe's future success begins when Zoe defiantly opens her book, making it clear that both confidence and reading are tools we all need to make our dreams come true.
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Publishers Weekly
The title of Caldecott Medalist Dillon's first solo outing sounds as if it's about dreaming big, but its real focus is on quieting the internal voice that undermines those dreams. "I'm a bird. I can fly way up high," announces a girl named Zoe; she has brown skin, curly hair, and striped leggings. "What if you fall?" taunts the voice. "I won't fall," Zoe replies stoutly. She dreams of being an astronaut (Dillon paints her sharing cupcakes with an alien), an archaeologist, an inventor, and a veterinarian who has just bandaged a tiger's paw. The main scenes, full of incident and detail, are framed by thick white borders, in which small vignettes show Zoe playing at what she wants to become--cooking on her toy stove or digging in the sand. As the pages turn, she gets braver: "You're just a voice, and I don't have to listen to you." And she knows where her priorities are: "First I have to learn to read!" Armed with Zoe's retorts, readers will grasp how their own doubts trip them up--and how to tell them to hush up. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)
Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2—Dillon offers a simple yet poignant reflection on the power of positive thinking. Zoe declares, "I can be anything I want to be"—from an archaeologist to a veterinarian, a musician, a famous chef, and more. Yet each time she imagines the possibility, a little voice, presumably her own, challenges her aspiration: "What if you get homesick?" "What if they bite you?" "What if you don't have talent?" Zoe's steadfast determination prevails until she finally concludes that learning to read and then reading a lot will pave the way to her success. Dillon's watercolor illustrations are stylistically familiar, but have a notably softer quality than her previous works. Absent are the formerly characteristic dark lines and extravagant details. The muted tones complement the imaginative playfulness of the young child's ruminations. Each page features a portrait-style painting of Zoe as ornithologist, inventor, firefighter, etc., an ample white border that supports the text, and small corner pictures of Zoe in the midst of make-believe. VERDICT This inspiring selection will appeal to both kids and teachers who are looking for a book with a message of empowerment. A useful addition to picture book collections.—Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
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JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV006000 - Juvenile Fiction | Business, Careers, Occupations
Reading
Occupations
Learning
Professions
