I Am a Masterpiece!: An Empowering Story about Inclusivity and Growing Up with Down Syndrome
by Mia Armstrong (Author) Alexandra Thompson (Illustrator)
Tween actress Mia Armstrong celebrates her fun, funny, beautiful childhood living with Down syndrome in this debut picture book.
Mia likes many of the things other people like--going to the beach, the color blue, drawing. But she doesn't like when strangers stare at her because she looks different from them.
Down syndrome allows Mia to see and understand the world in a way that may not make sense to others. She considers it her superpower--and instead of it making her strange, she considers herself a masterpiece.
As we all are. In this sparkling picture book, Mia offers a glimpse into the life of a child with Down syndrome, helping some readers see themselves in a book and helping others understand those friends, classmates, and family members who are neurodivergent.
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Opening lines establish Armstrong's direct tone in this affirming autobiographical debut: "I have Down syndrome, and I like myself exactly as I am. I just want people to be nice to me and to like me for who I am, too." Noting that "sometimes people forget their manners," the speaker details a challenging episode at a shoe store, where "grown-ups act like I'm invisible." At school, the protagonist and classmates, depicted with varying abilities and skin tones, draw self-portraits. When Mia's, a portrait of "how I feel, not how I look" as well as "how I see the world," proves different from the others, she proudly asserts, "I think that makes it the best of all," modeling a confidence later supported by her family's praise. Appearing frequently as multiple vignettes on a page, Thompson's delicate pencil and gouache renderings amplify the emotion that infuses the text's vision of external patience and self-love. An author's note opens, and a q&a about Down syndrome concludes. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Mia will star in her first feature film, Christmas in New Hope, which hits streamers this Christmas. She has also starred in the Apple TV show Hello Jack, Muppet Babies, and Disney's YouTube series The Disney Princess Club. In her modeling work, Mia has appeared in ads for Tommy Hilfiger, Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, Samsung, Cheerios, Chase, and Nickelodeon. She made history as the first child with Down syndrome to voice a cartoon character on Netflix. Mia has appeared on The View, MSNBC, and The Tamron Hall Show.
Mia is changing the way intellectual disabilities and differences are perceived as she fights for inclusion and against discrimination. Mia is a prolific artist who draws and paints daily, and her art has inspired Owtside The Box, an apparel company featuring the art of individuals with Down syndrome. Mia lives in California with her parents and brother. This is her first book. Alexandra Thompson is a Maine-based illustrator and author creating work for picture books, children's apparel, and magazines. She is also the illustrator of A Family for Louie and Ben & Emma's Big Hit.
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV077000 - Juvenile Fiction | Neurodiversity
Down syndrome
Individual differences
