The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words

by Wendy Ewald, Wendy Ewald

An award-winning photographer asked several children "What is the best part of you?", and presents their answers in this sometimes funny, sometimes moving, deeply personal book that includes striking black-and-white photographs taken by the author. Ideal for parents and teacher to use to discuss body image, self-esteem, and diversity with children.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Photography, Childrens, Nonfiction, School, Writing

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Wendy Ewald (born in 1951) is an American photographer and educator.

Wendy Ewald was born in Detroit, Michigan, graduated from Abbot Academy in 1969 and attended Antioch College between 1969–74, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied photography with Minor White. She embarked on a career teaching photography to children and young people internationally. In 1969 & 1970, she taught photography to Innu and Mi'kmaq Native-American children in Canada. Between 1976–80 she taught photography and film-making to students in Whitesburg, Kentucky, in association with Appalshop, a media co-op. In 1982, she traveled to Ráquira, Colombia, on a Fulbright fellowship working with children and community groups; spending a further two years in Gujarat, India. Ewald is married to Tom McDonough, a writer and cinematographer. They live in the Hudson Valley of New York with their son, Michael.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Rhiannon Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wendy Ewald is a renown photographer with over forty years of experience capturing women, children, and families in their communities. She has traveled to over ten countries, in which her images tell a thousand stories, capturing the identity and culture of many groups of people. Her book The Best Part Of Me integrates collaboration and self love, as children write about their favorite body part directly on the photos Ewald has taken. This immediately caught and held my attention, as it adds value to the sentiment of the book. Ewalds experience in photography allows her images to be a subtle background or prop, where the reader immediately sees the children’s words, but the picture slowly pulls our attention. The images ultimately add depth to the children’s poems. Ewald encourages children to love themself and their flaws. One of my favorite pages talked about the scars on a girl's knees, the design of the scar and how it reminds the child of summer time, probably the season in which she fell and got the scar. Her book encourages out of the box thinking and because it is written by children for children, most children can relate to the words and images shown. Most importantly, Ewald shows the drastic diversity of each individual person and what they value.

[Aliyah (Barbellsnbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brillant!

[Katalina Townsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What is the best part of you?", and presents their answers in this sometimes funny, sometimes moving, deeply personal book that includes striking black-and-white photographs taken by the author. Ideal for parents and teacher to use to discuss body image, self-esteem, and diversity with children.

[Joyce Yattoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this photographic picture book. Kids selected one part of their body they liked best then wrote about it. Lots of lesson plans out there. Makes for a great get to know you writing activity. Easily differentiated. Ss can go beyond the obvious uses of the body part.

[Jane Baber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beyond cool. It's the coolEST (book that blends photography, pride in body-image, and narrative poetry, that is). I was first introduced to "The Best Part of Me" during my summer with the Oklahoma Writing Project when a teacher colleague modeled how she used the book with her 5th graders. I immediately incorporated the text into my syllabus for the fall semester, eagerly anticipating collaborating on this creative composition with my pre-service teaching students.

Wendy Ewald's book is special, and the premise seems so simple. As per the cover, "children talk about their bodies in pictures and words." The pages follow a pattern: black and white photograph of a child's favorite feature (nose, teeth, eyes, etc.) followed by their poetic ode to their "best part." The book is not simple though; the message is incredibly strong. These self-portraits are powerful revelations about pride, individuality, culture, relationships, expression, and exercises in creative candidness.

Fast forward post-summer to reading the book with my class of educators, slowly pausing together to absorb the details in each students' special photograph, and laughing with the kids' sweet and clever narratives ("Sometimes I can move my teeth. Sometimes my gramma can move her teeth too."). My students and I each took our own photos and wrote odes to the best parts of us (cue laughter about making sure everything stayed G-rated), and shared them on a particularly special night in class. We laughed, smiled, and got teary as journeys with insecurities, pride in familial features, and quirky takes on our compositions were showcased. We talked teaching moments and how else this book could be used - What would characters in a novel say was the best part of them? What if we looked for non-physical attributes? What would our best personality traits be? What is the best gift we can share with others? What is the best thing I want to try? The possibilities for this text are huge!

The last line of the poem on the last page of "The Best Part of Me" reads: "These beautiful things are mine." This book reminds us to celebrate our students, celebrate each other, and celebrate ourselves. What is the best part of you?

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This awesome picture book should be on every elementary classroom bookshelf because it speaks to all children and all children will be able to recognize themselves in it. This book was a collaboration between the author and teachers and students in Durham, North Carolina. Combining stunning black and white photography with student poetry describing the parts of their bodies they like best or explains the most about them, this could start some great conversations about body image, culture, and appreciation of everyone's unique body. I love that the student poetry is printed in each child's handwriting. This could definitely inspire young writers to write about what's special about themselves.

[Kayley King]

This was a really cute book. Each page has its own hand written letter to each child's favorite body part from the child. The letters on why they like those body parts and what they use them for. Every picture was in black and white which I thought was a very interesting touch because the title on the cover was in color. I also really liked that this book didn't have the kids edit their spelling and grammar because it added a really sweet touch that only handwritten letters by kids can have. I would probably use this book for grades in 1st and 2nd grade because I think it would be fun to have them write a letter about their favorite body part.

[Anj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Part of Me shows a variety of people and a specific part of their body, saying what they like about it or what’s special about it. The book shows photography of a variety of people from different backgrounds and it even repeats body parts as well. And in each page, it’s written by the person photographed and it’s signed by their name. This book serves as the perfect opportunity for students to see themselves in a variety of ways and the main gist of this book can be applied as a classroom activity where children can identify a different part of themselves and gain an appreciation for it, whether it’s because it’s pretty or because of its function (ex. I picked my legs because they help me run super fast!).

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words
by Wendy Ewald
I read this story to a third grade class. The kids liked this a connection to the story in relating to themselves. Watching one student relate the story to another student because they missed it was interesting. The poems related to children's opinions of their own body, and which part they like about themselves. The poems are very specific, and helped inspire the kids to find their own quality that they could use in their own portraits.

[Lucy Rosser]

The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald is a book inspired by a class in North Carolina. Each of the students shared a part of their body that they like and are proud of. Some of the students wrote a poem or just a paragraph of reasons why they like that specific body part. There also was a picture provided.

I think it is important for kids to be proud of and love their bodies. It shows how they perceive themselves. Everyone is unique and so are their bodies. This is an important lesson to teach.

[Taylor Brickley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about children describing their favorite parts of their bodies and why they love it. This book has pictures of their bodies and then the children turned their stories into poetry. I really liked this book because the photographer captured some really great pictures and the message of this book was really good. I would use this in my classroom to show students that positive body images are and why its important to embrace imperfections.

[Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book! It’s also a great way to begin a poetry unit for students. Out of 6 poems my students will write, this is their first. They write their poem about the best part of them. We walk around the school looking for nice places to take a photo and shoot their featured image. This photo and poem become the cover of their poetry portfolio. The students love doing this project and it’s so interesting to learn about the students in this way.

[Karla Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book in the classroom, I would prompt students to pick their own favorite body part from which we could make a personal class version of "The Best Part of Me". I would say, I think that the book might be a little too long, at least for a read-aloud, and the white and black photographs may have difficulty captivating the students' attention. But other than that, I do really like this book!

[Lauren Munch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun, silly, and powerful all in one! I loved how each poem was written by a different child and they were able to choose what “the best part of me” was to them and why!

Poetry

2nd grade - 5th grade

[Amy]

This is a collection of poems written by different children about their favorite part of themselves. This story is perfect for upper elementary because it could lead into a project about them writing their own poetry about themselves using rhyming or bothered specific literary devices.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2002, used when I taught elementary school students, and twenty-years later, I still see children's writing inspired by the children who are featured in Ewald's book. Kudos to Ewald for creating such a beautiful tribute to children and who they know themselves to be.

[kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking forward to using this book as a mentor text for a special writing project for my students.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wonderful. Black and white photos of each child's favorite part of their body - hands, feet, elbow etc.. accompanied by their explanation of why that part of their body is their favorite part.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this book, but the writing was different than I expected.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this as a pre-cursor for my students opening writing activity. It is a powerful book that promotes self-love.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning mentor text to serve as a springboard for writing and photography. Gorgeous photos and kid-written poems/free verse highlighting the best part of themselves.

[Tracy Challis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book to help kids explore through photography and poetry.

[Kathy Iwanicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have read it every year since I have heard about it. My students love doing the activity themselves!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great educational book.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used for mentor text to make similar displays for a back to school open house display.

[Kylie Gaspardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was portrayed so well!!

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book about the best part of you. I’ll use this with my class this year and have them do the same thing <3

[Madeline Pimentel Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book during a reading lesson with 2nd graders. They enjoyed the photos and often modeled the positions they see. Beautifully created

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was requested by a teacher. I can see it will be the basis of a good writing lesson.

[Tonya Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book compiles a list of poems and pictures that illustrate the best parts of each child author within the book. The beautifully written poems depict what each child appreciates about the best part of his/her body. Some body parts mentioned were the neck, eyes, and back. Each student’s work is truly unique in the photographs, but more importantly in the reasons why they chose their specific body part. Ewald uncovers the beauty of diversity, positive self-image, and appreciation these children share for their bodies.

Characteristics to Support Genre: This book is uses images and includes elements of poetry including rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration. Some poems include similes and words that appeal the the senses.

Concepts Integrated: body image, self-esteem, diversity, anti-bullying, photography, poetry, expressive writing, writing process

Other Suggestions that could be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated: 3-5 readers
Writing – Students will identify a positive physical feature that is the best part of them and create a descriptive poem about their favorite feature. They could then revise and edit their works and eventually publish their poems. The teacher could compile these at the end of the unit and create a class book or blog with all of the students’ work to display to parents and class visitors.
Art – Students could draw pictures of their best body part and explain why they chose that body part. Or they could integrate technology by using digital cameras or iPads to capture pictures of their best body part.
Science/Speaking – Students could brainstorm in groups as a jigsaw activity, each group getting a body part and coming up with the uses or reasons why the body part is liked (scientific or opinion). They could then share those with the class and present the body part their group had.

Ideas from Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/le...