Those of us who review children's books and serve on book award committees are encouraged to focus on what the book is -- not what it's not. So I appreciated this book about rockin' what ya got. (Tangent: It makes me think of Todd Parr, a children's book author who is arguably not the most sophisticated artist or writer, but I really love his books because he rocks what he's got -- positivity, acceptance, and a lot of bold wacky colors.)

It certainly feels like the picture book market is saturated with books telling children to be who they are (and that's not a bad thing). I'm not sure if this book really stands out in the field generally. It does highlight the creative process so would be a good book to share with a budding artist or in a creative writing class for young people.

I also liked Berger's rhyming text. It was very bouncy and memorable. ( )

Cute book... A sweet reminder to believe in yourself. ( )

When an artist creates the figure of a young girl on the page, naming her 'Viva,' she decides something isn't quite right, and that she should try again. Coming to life before her, Viva declares that she's just fine the way she is, asking to be allowed to "rock what she's got." Despite her creation's pleas, the artist continues to try to change things, always discovering in the end that Viva is still Viva. Eventually, recalling that in her own girlhood she felt as Viva did, she decides that Viva is just how she was meant to be...

Rock What Ya Got is the second inspirational picture-book I have read recently from author Samantha Berger, but unlike the earlier What If..., which explored the nature of creativity, and which I found to be a wonderful tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, this one left me cold. I understand the message the author is trying to get across here - that we should accept ourselves, and play to our strengths - but like many self-affirmational children's stories I have come across, it just felt a little overdone, and lacking in balance. Working on our weaknesses, whether within ourselves or in the artwork we create, is a necessary and productive thing, and while I appreciate that some of the things Viva doesn't want changed are best accepted or left alone, I wonder if narratives like this press the idea that any attempt at self-criticism or self-improvement is somehow self-rejection. I'd have preferred a narrative which differentiated between circumstances in which we should accept ourselves, and those in which we should strive to change. Leaving that issue aside, I also found that the text itself here didn't work for me, with the switching back and forth between the prose narrative and the rhyming declarations of Viva. The artwork by Kerascoët - husband and wife illustrating team Sébastien Cosset and Marie Pommepuy - is expressive and full of motion, but wasn't enough to save this one for me. ( )

A child reminds everyone to embrace their own special something and the importance of self-love. ( )