So "Big" is many things, partially inspired by my childhood. Until you and I know it isn't good - big, especially for young Black girls - it stops being a compliment at a certain point in your life. You write, (reading) What a big girl you are, the adults would say. SUMMERS: There is this line early in your book that really stuck with me, and it happens when this girl is - she's still really young, even in a high chair. And I wanted to showcase how that story can change over time based on the words that we use to talk to children and sort of examine how that story changes when those words become negative.
And all of the excitement and hope that people have for their kids is placed on this little child. But I wanted to start the story at the very beginning, where all children start, in a place of pure self-love. HARRISON: For me, this story was really about the words we give and share with children, and I wanted to make a story that followed a child on a journey towards self-love. SUMMERS: Vashti, why did you want to begin this book when this little girl was so young, at this earliest stage of childhood? (Reading) Once there was a girl with a big laugh and a big heart and very big dreams. SUMMERS: I'm wondering if you could just read the sentence that opens this book for us. And can I ask, do you have a copy of your book with you? And when we first meet her, she's just a baby, and she's wearing this white onesie with the words dream big on it. VASHTI HARRISON: Thank you so much for having me.
The book is "Big," and author-illustrator Vashti Harrison joins us now. Her arms are stretched high over her head as she holds up the words that make the title of this book, spelled out in oversized, imposing black letters. On the cover of Vashti Harrison's latest book, a young Black girl, her curly hair styled in two puffs, is wearing a beautiful pastel tutu and pink ballet slippers.
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