17 Body Positive Children's Books & Picture Book GIVEAWAY!

This book, Body Beautiful by Susan Verde, illustrated by Steph Littlebird, inspired me to make this list.

I am giving away a copy of Body Beautiful. To enter, please leave a comment.

17 Body Positive Children’s Books

Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

“A beautiful person is someone who embraces who they are and helps others do the same. There is only one Zubi, and that makes you beautiful, you.”

It’s Zubi’s first day of school, and she’s excited as she gets dressed. But then she hears negative self-talk from her Amma about her big tummy, her big sister about wanting to lose weight, and her Baba about gaining weight. At school, Kennedy tells Alix that they look fat in their dress. Suddenly, Zubi’s first day of school is not so fun. At home, Zubi decides to go on a diet, and her family freaks out. They realize something is wrong. They tell her that they were mean to themselves and that they are sorry. Her name, Zubi, they tell her, means loving and understanding. Zubi decides to make the world more beautiful, and her second day of school is going to be great! [picture book, ages 2 and up]

Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder

Every type of body gets included in this body-positive book that emphasizes that bodies are cool. It is the perfect read-aloud to chant or even shout enthusiastically with kids. [picture book, ages 2 and up]

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell, illustrated by David Catrow

Grandma Melon taught Molly Lou to be proud of who she is. Her short stature meant people would look up to her. Her buck teeth make her smile so big that people smile back. Her deep voice can’t be ignored. When Molly Lou moved away from her grandma, she took the lessons to heart. When a bully tried to belittle her, Molly Lou kept her confidence, her smile, and her clear, strong voice. It won over all the kids at school, including her bully. [picture book, ages 2 and up]

Every Body: A First Conversation about Bodies by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, illustrated by Tequitia Andrews

For a serious, didactic approach, this book does the job. It’s meant to start a conversation with preschoolers on a range of topics including ablism, body diversity, disability justice, fatphobia, fat activism, and body affirmation. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

Body Beautiful by Susan Verde, illustrated by Steph Littlebird

Susan Verde and Steph Littlebird model another way to think about one’s body — as something beautifully functional! As something wonderfully expressive! As something wise and deserving of love. This is an important message to counter social media’s definition of beauty in unrealistic and narrowly conforming ways. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Lovely by Jess Hong

“Lovely is different, weird, and wonderful.”

What is lovely? It is a wide definition that includes everyone. With sparse text, this book celebrates diversity and body positivity. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelly Anand, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

Should girls have mustache hairs? Laxmi’s friends notice that she has a mustache, and she feels embarrassed all day at school. When she gets home, her parents respond with a body-positive message that everyone has hair on their bodies, including a mustache! When Laxmi goes to school the next day, she is able to pass this message along to her classmates. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Every Body Has a Body by Molli Jackson Ehlert, illustrated by Lorian Tu

A body is about functionality. Every body has a body and a body does many things, like move us through the world. Bodies may look different, but bodies all do the same thing. This is a good book to present the body for what it does, rather than what it looks like. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Abigail the Whale by Davide Cali, illustrated by Sonja Bougaeva

The kids at swimming class called Abigail a whale because when she dived in, she made a big splash. She felt too big to be a good swimmer, but her swim coach disagreed. He encouraged her to think light, like a fish or a bird. If you want to feel light, you have to think light. That was like a lightbulb for Abigail, and she ran with it. She could be other things, too. A high jumper in gym class if she thought kangaroo. A statue when she got a shot so as not to feel the needle. When swim class came around the next week, Abigail had all kinds of thoughts that made her swim like a fish. And even dive off the high dive! This book encourages reframing and a growth mindset, as well as emthpay, creativity, and the power of positive thinking. [picture book, ages 5 and up]

Beautiful Girl: Celebrating the Wonders of Your Body by Christiane Northrup, M.D. and Kristina Tracy, illustrated by Aurelie Blanz

Girls need positive messaging about their bodies. This book is like a lite version of the Birds and the Bees talk, with an emphasis on inspirational metaphors to view their changing bodies. [picture book, ages 5 and up]

We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch and Anne McGuire, illustrated by Eduardo Trejos

All bodies are unique and essential. All bodies are whole.
All bodies have strengths and needs that must be met.
We are powerful not despite the complexities of our bodies,
but because of them. We move together, with no body
left behind. This is disability justice.
Aurora Levine Morales and Patty Berne

This picture book presents ablism and accessibility, showing how everyone can come together to move together. [picture book, ages 6 and up]

All the Ways to Be Pretty by Shamila Khan, illustrated by Reyhana Ismail

Author Shamila Khan wrote this book to provide Muslim parents with a way to talk to their daughters about physical beauty and the need to define it more broadly. Instead of a physical attribute, Khan models how to consider beauty as intelligence, wisdom, bravery, piousness, resiliency, and kindness. She stresses the importance of inner beauty over physical beauty. [picture book, ages 7 and up]

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho

“A young Taiwanese girl notices that her eyes look different from the eyes of those around her. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s – and her mother’s eyes are like her grandmother’s, and her grandmother’s eyes are like her little sister’s. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.

Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment.” [picture book, ages 4 and up]

The Big Bath House by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Gracey Zhang

Visiting Baachan’s house is a joyful event full of hugs and a visit to the public bathhouse with all your cousins and aunties! There is a certain sequence of events for what you must do upon entering the bathhouse. First, you must wash up and get clean before you enter the big bath. It’s wonderfully steamy and relaxing! It’s a celebration of women in the big bathhouse.

“You’ll all dip your bodies,
your newly sprouting,
gangly bodies,
your saggy, shapely
jiggly bodies,
your cozy, creased,
ancient bodies.

Beautiful bodies.”

After the bath, it’s time for a treat. Shaved ice! Then, it’s time to walk home again … clip-clopping in your wooden geta sandals. This picture book is a celebration of Japanese culture and the bonds of family that cross oceans. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

The Ouchiest Words by Debbie Min, illustrated by Putri Ayu Sekarmentari

Zach bullies Nari with mean words and by pulling back his eyelids into slants. It makes Nari not want to go to school. Patty is also bullied, but she does not let it affect her. This inspires Nari to fight back using words and positive self-talk. The next time Zach bullies her, she’s ready. Debbie Min uses multiple realistic examples of anti-Asian bullying as well as strategies for coping and fighting back. It’s a powerful tool to use for kids who are being bullied at school, as well as to inspire allies to step up. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

A Kids Book About Body Image by Rebecca Alexander

This is a book that should be read together with an adult and child. This is a book about body image written by an author who says, in the book, that she’s fat and struggles with her body image, alternating between loving herself as she is and finding fault with her size. She addresses the pressures that come from social media and advertising that project an ideal body type for women. Her central message is one of self-acceptance, self-love, and body-positivity. Rebecca Alexander is the founder of AllGo, a community review platform designed to rate the comfort and accessibility of public spaces for plus-size individuals. [mostly nonillustrated picture book, ages 5 and up]

The Comeback: A Figure Skating Novel by E. L. Chen

Review by Ms. Yingling Reads:

“This is on trend with books depicting the experiences of students from different cultural backgrounds and their treatment in school. Maxine sends away from adhesive to try to make double eyelids on herself, thinking she would receive fewer comments about her appearance. She also gets help with her makeup from an older skater who is also Asian. I appreciated that when her teacher finally realized what Alex was doing and saying, punishment was swift, and apologies were made to both Maxine and her family. The details about skating are excellent, and Maxine’s relationship with Hollie is realistically tentative. Maxine struggles with some of her schoolwork and with time management. The story moves quickly, with a good mix of sport and everyday life.” [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

p.s. Related posts:

8 Middle Grade Books that Address Body Image

Are Slant Eyes Racist? Portraying Asians in Children’s Books

Racism in Children’s Books: Asian Slant Eyes

SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response

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My books:

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Free and downloadable guide:

Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection