You Rule!

by Rilla Alexander (Illustrator)

A boldly graphic, verbally playful affirmation that the most precious things in life are immeasurable!

How far can you go? How much do you know? How kind are you? How much do I love you? These are the impossible questions every child has asked, and every parent has struggled to answer. This is a wonderfully affirmative and aspirational book of possibilities and exploration, a fantastic linguistic calibration/celebration of bravery, kindness, love, and so much more. Within this bright and colorful picture book and energetic glossary of words, Rilla Alexander brilliantly succeeds in measuring the immeasurables of life.
 

BUILDS EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE: This book provides the linguistic tools to describe and measure the widest possible emotions and qualities with a rich palette of words saturated in wit, whimsy, and empathy. 
 
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR YOUNG AND OLD: Whether you are shopping for a baby gift, a graduation gift, or browsing the library shelves for a book to soothe a child getting ready to start school, this book is for you!

A GENTLE MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION AND IMAGINATION: Follow along as a boy and his dog tenderly care for a lost caterpillar until its transformation and release as a glorious butterfly. 

GORGEOUS, BOLD ILLUSTRATIONS: The author's bright, kid-friendly artwork makes an instant impression—a feast for the mind and the eyes! 

Perfect for:

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Childrens, Fiction, Stem, Storytime

36 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2023

Reviews

[Andi Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m giving this book four stars for layout and illustration and overall message. The contrast of scale, a limited palette, bold graphics and understandable images make this just a beautiful book. Like Antoinette Portis, Rilla Alexander is a designer and this book is all about measuring and comparing. The vocabulary is interesting and refreshing. There’s a lot to play with between synonyms and antonyms and even if a child hasn’t said some of these words, the more they hear, the richer their own vocabulary becomes.

I had trouble with the words that are in bold and large are considered positive, and ones that are light and small, less so. I believe this book was created to be empowering, but all feelings and abilities are important, and it’s mho they’re kind of reduced to good or bad here. Maybe that’s me being a cynical grown-up. “How fast are you?” is a spread that sends a message that overall, fast is good, slow is not. But slow can also mean patient, or deliberate, or someone could have a disability, or none of these and they just want to be slow that day. None of those are negative things. The animals’ actions emphasize these words at various points in the book. The spreads “How brave are you?” and “How big are you?” employ bold and light fonts as positive and negative as well. If a child is smaller than other children around them, and they’re regularly made aware of it, how could this make them feel? No child has control over their size. Also, certain word/phrase choices are troubling: “courageous” (large and bold) or “as frightened as a mouse scurrying back to its hole” (small and light). But, it’s normal and more than okay to feel afraid and run, it could keep you safe. Courage can be a small and quiet action that can change someone’s life. To alter the weight of the typeface is a deliberate decision, it’s a means to emphasize, the same as all caps in a text. Could be that it was an editorial decision and not the author at all.

But I will say that “How far can you go?” is a wonderful message, all the words appear to grow and progress. As a designer I would’ve kept the typefaces the same, we can have all these experiences at different times, they’re all equally important and we should encourage talking about them. It’s how we behave when we have those feelings that will matter the most.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of questions and possible answers (and thus lots of vocabulary!). It would work best one-on-one, or with an older group to discuss possibilities and diversity, or different gifts and bravery.

[Snail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Rilla Alexander’s simple, bold shapes and colors. Warms my heart right up!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for finding words to describe ranges of feelings. Would be great for a counselor or SEL lesson.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the author’s nephew who she features in the book, children will realize that not everything in life can be measured or tracked. Kids like to use rulers to measure things. They like to see how far they can jump, how tall they are, or how far they can throw. But, you can’t really measure how kind you are or how much you are loved.

The bright and colorful illustrations engage children and the use of adjectives and verbs to describe feelings and actions is great for adding to their vocabulary. Is your child struggling with how to name their emotions? The “How happy are you?” page offers all kinds of feelings from ecstatic to out of sorts to disappointed to overjoyed. Your child can measure how brave they are which will open a conversation about what might help them feel braver.

The ultimate message is that no matter how they measure up, they will always be loved immeasurably. There isn’t a ruler that measures feelings, but you can remind your child how much they are loved every day.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rilla Alexander is an illustrator to watch. Her art is distinct and colorful and fun but has such artistry and skill. This may not be as strong as some of her other works (Herbert on the Slide or The New Rooster are my top picks), but this story kind of crept up on me. There is a background story of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, some visual playing with measurement and feelings, and then ends with parental love. Rilla says her inspiration was her grandfather who kept a measurement wall of all the grandkids and great-grandkids' heights, and she thought what it would be like if there was a ruler for ideas and feelings. She hit the nail on the head.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 051 of 350 ~ 2025

🌟🌟🌟

Wonderful illustrations. Based on her and her siblings childhood memories of being measured for their growth inspired this book.

It was interesting as well as a tad headspinny for me with all the words. I still like a story with pictures.. versus something that felt a bit like a survey.

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[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

No this is not a picture book about measuring or counting. It is a vocabulary book about actions and feelings, words from the negative to the positive aspects. The double page illustrations picture a young boy and his blue dog racing through activities, with a question asked and various vocabulary words and phrases answering questions like, How happy are you? and How long will it take?. Creative title that will engender some participation.

Scott county Public Library. Georgetown, Kentucky

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book asks the reader a series of questions and provides multiple answers on a continuum of negative to positive.

A series of questions are posed to a boy and his dog -- and by reader by proxy -- as they engage in various activities. Multiple answers are provided with negative answers in a smaller sized font and positive answers in a bigger sized font in bold.

This picture helps young readers develop emotional awareness, which is the necessary foundation for emotional self-regulation.

[Nahuatl P Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro hace varias preguntas que nos hacen reflexionar sobre nuestras emociones, algunas reseñas dicen que las emociones positivas están en letras negritas, mientras que las respuestas negativas están en letras delgaditas, pero no siento que sean escalas tan ordenadas o que haya respuestas correctas incorrectas, creo que todos sentimos diferentes cosas en diferentes momentos y que el libro nos invita a reflexionar acerca de eso.
Lo recomiendo mucho.

[Rachel Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture book from the library

I LOVED THIS! The book is about measurements, but not just height or distance. How excited are you? How brave are you? How much do you know?

The "rulers" for each question teach kiddos vocabulary (all kinds of synonyms!) and metaphors. Very descriptive but also, gives children language to describe levels of achievement/ learning/ knowing.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

POC main character, measurement, vocabulary, great illustrations

I want to use this as a way to introduce measurement, and the pictures are cool. But visually, the words don't come across as on a linear continuum, so it's a little confusing for kids new to measurement. Maybe better for older kids working on vocab?

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually appealing and vocabulary rich. Questions ask how much, how far, how fast, etc, and are answered from one end of the spectrum to another, with both single descriptive words to turns of phrase and idioms. The illustrations show a child, a dog, and a caterpillar who eventually makes the change to butterfly.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this a math book, or a vocabulary book? What are other ways of measuring things, if not numerically? The pictures subtly show yet more ways to measure, such as rulers, or infographic trees, or steps. And finally, how do you measure love? Despite the simplicity, I wouldn't use this for a storytime. But it would work as a kindergarten or 1st grade introduction to a discussion about measurement.

[Rachel N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems like it would aid grownups who are helping children understand the scale of various kinds of emotion and how some emotions are the same are different. It's a cool concept that I haven't seen in a picture book before, and it appeals to how much my brain loves both feelings and charts.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each spread asks the reader (a child) a question, ranging from "how ready are you?" to "how far can you go?" This could be a good book to check-in with kids and how they are feeling. It would be cool to make a measuring tape sign using these questions for a home or a classroom. It's not your traditional story book, so you have to think about how you use it. It kinda reminded me of 20 Questions.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as an adult reader for the AR Diamond Book Award. I feel like this book was written with teachers in mind, but not necessarily for the young readers. It would be very difficult for anyone to use this book in a classroom setting or as a read aloud. The illustrations are cute and in plain, solid colors that feel overshadowed by the text everywhere all over the page.

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this would be challenging as a storytime book, I think this would be fun for reading and discussing one-on-one or in a small group, especially with kids in the phase of wanting to measure and quantify everything.

Themes: Measurement, How Much
Age range: Preschool-Early Elementary

[Kelly]

This might be a fun STEM one. It asks how questions and gives different amounts of how fast you are or how happy are you. It then gives lots of examples of answers. The last spread is cute, and the undies are cute, too.

[Allison Turkish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library when my kids were small and now that they're 10 and 12 I still remember it.

This book is a perfect way for kids to learn new terms for size and how they're feeling and all sorts of adjectives. Definitely 5 stars!

[Shannonmde]

Super cute with fun pictures.
Shows emotions and characteristics on a scale like a ruler.
How big are you? How strong are you? How kind are you? How far can you go? How fast are you?

[Renee Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher and a mom, I can think of a million ways to use this book as a teaching tool.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful book about feelings!

[Leova Manbhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach children vocabulary!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is really fun and creative.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

On self evaluation. Perhaps reading this book can be turned into a game somehow? Good graphic art style and illustrations.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of cute, but not really a great book.

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

strong SEL combines with principles of measurement and comparison

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting approach to thinking about measurement.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrative. Conversational. Vocabulary. Question and answer. Love it.