This book was beautifully written and such a powerful book. The book has a lot of heart and a clear message, that whilst we can’t always choose what words are spoken. We can in fact choose the way we view them. As a mother and also a teacher I think the messages in this book are important and I would read this to my own child and the students in my classroom. The illustrations were fun, vibrant and engaging. I think children of all ages could appreciative these images. They are also detailed well and there are lots of great talking points within the story and images to help you teach and reinforce the message.

4.75
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨

Thanks to Netgalley and The Collective Book Studio for this eARC. I confirm this review is honest and that all thoughts are my own.

I really liked this book! My son LOVES the ABC’s and upon reading the premise of the book, it really caught my eye. This book takes certain words that usually have negative connotation to them and flips them on their head to a positive. This was ingenious as it can really help reframe a child’s mind to take these words and make them their own power, rather than something that could be taken as them doing/or being something wrong.

I personally also found it was teaching ME a few things along the way as a parent! It’s so easy to fall into the trap of labelling our children ‘hyper’, ‘messy’ and thinking that these are bad traits to have, and this book helped ME see that they are not.

I guess I didn’t give it full marks as I fear it may teach children to use those words openly as compliments and perhaps with them being taken the wrong way by others, but I suppose that’s the whole reason for this book. To instill and seed a positive way of thinking and sharing those messages to one another, or at least taking them onboard themselves for positive self-talk. I also found the colours to be VERY bright and some of the illustrations a little chaotic with a little too much going on, which could be a little overstimulating for little minds, but I did appreciate the diversity of all the children portrayed.

Overall I thought it was a great book and would definitely recommend. The eReader sadly didn’t load the book properly so my experience of reading it was a little obscured, but I would definitely buy this for my 3 year old son as a paperback.

More of a self esteem book than an ABC book. Questionable word usage for ABC purposes such as using Know-it-all for the letter K. But a cute way for kids to think about themselves and everything that makes them them.

This book was wonderful! I thought it was so amazing how McKenzie does turn negatives into positives. This is helpful for children labelled as these things to view their strengths as well as for adults to remain open-minded and empathetic towards a child that might be a bit challenging. This book inspired me to be more empathetic and had me feeling more confident about my own "flaws".

I absolutely loved this book and will be purchasing it for my kids on release date too!

The illustrations are dynamic and colourful. I love the reframing of attributes that can often be used in a negative away and prompting people to look for the positives or understand why people might be that way.

As a woman who grew up with undiagnosed ADHD a lot of these words were used to describe me in a negative way and there was actually something quite healing in reading this book.

I am excited to purchase a physical copy to read regularly with my kids

I liked how this book took some adjectives that are typically seen as 'bad' and twisted them into good things (i.e. 'bossy'). It also seemed like a good way to help kids learn to put a name to their emotions to try to help them determine why they're acting the way they are and what can help them feel better (i.e. 'grumpy' = needs more rest). It did feel very wordy at times however.

These ABCs Belong to Me, written by Alicia McKenzie and illustrated by Sarah Demonteverde goes through the alphabet and talks about different descriptiove traits that can apply to children and individuals, I liked this book because it looked at some emotions that are seen in a negative way and how they can actually be positive, and also showed a diverse variety of characters in the book. I wasn’t sure how I felt at first about some of the “negative” descriptive words that were being used but I realize now that is kind of the point. Children are often told that they might be bossy, extra, or a know it all, (just to name a few!) and it is important for them to know that this isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes these traits or characteristics help us to be the people that we are!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the author, publisher, and narrator of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An adorable children’s book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it to my baby son. As a Mama to two, possibly three kiddos with Autism, I loved how inclusive the language is and is encouraging us both to all be gentle with ourselves about our multitude of feelings and also to be kind and inclusive with one another. Beautifully illustrated and a delight to read about the different emotions.

The author, herself a mother of five children, really gets to the heart of what makes us diverse and why it's special to appreciate our uniqueness. I love the wide variety of human qualities that are celebrated including being clumsy, a picky eater, bossy, or quiet. Not good or bad, just ways we are or feel at times.

This is such an inclusive, colorfully illustrated book, that will be perfect for storytime or bedtime readings. I highly recommend this book for schools and libraries.

These ABCs Belong to Me! is an empowering alphabet book that encourages readers to reclaim words often seen as negative, like “bossy,” “clumsy,” and “picky.” The illustrations are vibrant and diverse, bringing the message to life. The book teaches children that we are more than the labels others may place on us. However, I do wonder if younger readers might misinterpret some of the words or use them in ways we don’t want them to describe themselves, such as “obnoxious.” This book might be better suited for older elementary students, perhaps in a restorative practice setting or as part of a discussion about labels in the classroom. It’s a great tool for encouraging reflection and conversation about self-worth. Thanks to NetGalley and The Collective Book Studio for the ARC!

I love the illustrations, and how positive the descriptions for each word are! But for some words, that is also a problem, as it doesn't allow them to be accurately described. For example, I can see a child not grasping the full meaning of "obnoxious" and going around using the word to describe themselves.

Overall, a great book for children to learn some new adjectives and have fun choosing which ones match them :)

It’s a really charming book with a message that’s just as delightful. However, some of the vocabulary and the way certain definitions are presented might be confusing for young children. My only concern is that kids may start using words like "bossy" or "impulsive" without fully understanding what they mean. That being said, I do think the overall message is positive and worthwhile!

What a great read! I loved the different adjectives to describe children in many different unique ways!
I read this with my Pre-K class and each child related to a different page.

This is perfect! My daughter has recently started her reading journey, so I have added a few books to my ipad mini for her to read on kindle when on the go. She loves them! This one was so cute. The pages were a bit weird on kindle at first, but after some formatting it was a bit easier to read.