Francis Discovers Possible

by Ashlee Latimer, Shahrzad Maydani (illustrator)

Expected publication Spring 2022

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Self Esteem, School, Bodies, Family, Fiction

Hardcover

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tender story. Beautiful illustrations. A book to treasure.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francis is adorable and shows that word 'possible' if for everyone no matter what their size is; big, small, fat or skinny.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartfelt, affecting story depicting the emotional harm of bullying and affirming body image appreciation. Lovely pastel and watercolor illustrations.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful - in story & images! We need more authentic, sensitive, representative, empowering stories for fat kids, and this one hits the mark. Also deals with kids being hurtful in a way that allows the character to work through the feelings and come to a better understanding of herself. Especially appreciate the extremely supportive Dad and all of the lovely illustration details.

[Sally Jernigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francis Discovers Possible is a joy and a delight. This book is one of the first I've ever seen that encourages young people to accept and love their bodies. Latimer also demonstrates how vital patient, thoughtful parents who listen to their students are for healthy child development. It's beautifully written, thoughtfully illustrated, and truly a joy to read.

[Ms. Madalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible easy picture book about how words can hurt but also how words can lift us up.

[Abby Johnson]

This is a wonderful picture book about embracing what is possible when we allow people to take up space and sing and dance and share, no matter what their body looks like. I love, love, love the illustrations that show many different fat people doing all kinds of different things - swimming (even fat mermaids!), swinging, roller skating...

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, affirming story for all kids

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who struggled with their weight as a child, and had major body image issues for years to follow, I have never been so deeply moved by the beauty and simplicity of a picture book quite like I was after reading FRANCIS. Latimer writes a universal experience for all sizes, through their careful ability to capture the nuance of a child's emotions and sensitivity. Shahrzad Maydani matches with glorious, sweeping illustrations that provide all the wonder one can imagine when envisioning the word "possible." Yes, this is a body positivity book first, but in its specificity, FRANCIS becomes a relatable journey for any child or adult who has ever wanted to reclaim something about themselves.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and written, this empowering picture book encourages readers to accept and love their bodies, even when others use words in a hurtful way.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

When two kids in Francis’ class call her fat, they take a word that she’s always associated with good things and make it feel “small and cold” instead. This book is the quiet, warm story of how Francis processes what happens and recuperates her sense of security and power—through connecting with her supportive Baba, who is also fat; through exploring words, one of her favorite things to do; and through allowing herself all the time she needs for processing. Powerful and much needed. Beautiful cloud-like illustrations by Shahrzad Maydani. Francis is a fat kid with light brown skin and straight, medium brown hair.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was something I needed as a kid, and I even need now. Growing up as the fat kid in the early 00's was very difficult. It's amazing how one off comments from classmates can really stick with you -- even when you're a grown adult. I think this story empowers larger children to reclaim the word "fat" and what it means and how it has nothing to do with their worth. This book is encouraging you to take up space, and feel good about it -- to even feel hopeful that things are possible. I would recommend this to parents of early elementary age children and teachers.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Representation in picture books is so very important, and this particular title shows how cruel, thoughtless comments can undermine someone's self-confidence and add a negative connotation to words that were once considered warm and positive. Word-loving Francis is supposed to choose a new letter for her class so that they can find words that start with that letter. But before she can stake her claim on the letter P, Mr. Prewitt, her teacher, reviews the letters the students have learned. One classmate connects the letter "F" with "fat," while another one links that attribute to Francis. She is understandably devastated and embarrassed and shuts down for the rest of the day. After all, Francis has always associated "fat" with comfort, as she reflects that "Fat was always a warm word, like belly rubs for Francis's puppy. Or how her giggles felt too big for her mouth during hide-and-seek" (unpaged). But now the word makes her shiver "Like the time a hole split Francis's boots and let the puddles inside. Jericho made Francis feel small, like the time she tripped at recess during tag, and everyone laughed" (unpaged). When Baba comes to pick her up, she doesn't know how to explain what happened at school, especially since her father has a belly and she doesn't want to spoil the word "fat" for him. But he knows that something is wrong and suggests that they go to the park. When she hears him utter the word "possible," Francis asks about its meaning, and then starts thinking of all the things that might be possible. These lines were particularly salient: "Possible made Francis feel warm and big--like Fat, before Tabitha made it cold and Jericho made it small. Possible made her want to take up space and share her words, and wish and dance and play. Because if puppies and wishes could be Possible, maybe Francis was Possible too" (unpaged). As the story concludes and Francis feels better about herself and her own possibilities, it's impossible to predict how her classmates will behave in the future, but her self-esteem is boosted; she loves herself and can acknowledge her strengths. The text is filled with quotable lines that will resonate with readers, and the illustrations, created with soft pastels and watercolor, are filled with movement and expression from the characters and an awareness that humans come in all shapes and sizes, and that's perfectly okay. Kudos to Baba and Mr. Prewitt for their own actions and awareness. This would be an excellent body positivity book to share during the opening days of school in order to set the tone for how to treat others and behavioral expectations as well as a possible read aloud prior to reading or assigning Starfish for older readers. As an additional bonus, the Author's Note reveals the author's personal investment in this book and topic.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis loves letters and words, but when her classmates say "F is for fat - fat like Francis," it doesn't make her feel good. Francis has always known "fat" to be a good thing, which I think is such a fantastic detail about this book! It's not taken for granted that fat is a bad thing, but Francis does know that the way her classmates are saying it about her, they do not mean it as a good thing. Francis thinks "fat" is warm like cuddling up in mama's fluffy arms or on baba's soft belly, and she doesn't want to tell Baba she's upset, because she doesn't want him to know it's a bad thing.

Baba asks Francis if they can go to the park after school, and he uses a new "P- word... possible." Francis starts thinking about "possible" and they take a walk around to see what it might mean. "Possible made Francis feel warm and bit - like fat, before Tabitha made it cold and Jericho made it small." She decides that if other things are possible, "maybe Francis was possible, too."

I was a little worried that the "possible" was going to include Francis getting smaller, but it does NOT! Possible allows for Francis' existence as she is! I love the positive representation of fatness in this book - as a concept, a description of Mama and Baba, a feeling of joy and fullness, and as represented in the illustrations of the people around Francis and Baba. The illustrations are soft, colourful, and beautiful, and the story is just as soft and beautiful.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

While it was obviously not okay for the children to make fun of Francis for her weight, this book negates a very serious health concern about childhood obesity. This is about so much more than what you look like on the outside. When a child is overweight or obese, there are going to be bad things going on inside their bodies!!! So while we should never judge people about how they look, we should most certainly not be accepting that being unhealthy is okay. Ultimately you are really hurting the person who is unhealthy. So when I continued to see pictures of unhealthy adults who were overweight as if this was something to be celebrated, that raised serious concerns for me. Being overweight is harder on your joints, it's harder on your internal organs, and it's harder on your mental and emotional health. The focus should be on getting healthy on the inside.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis is excited to share all the words she's discovered that begin with the letter P, but before she can, another child in her class calls her fat. Francis has always felt comfortable with the word fat, but the way the kids say it make her feel cold and small. That's when she discovers another word that begins with P: possible. This word gives her the chance to think about things from a different perspective.

This is a sweet story with really lovely illustrations. I'm still struggling to understand how the beginning fits with the conclusion and am therefore unsatisfied. If I figure it out, I'll let you know.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gentle story about a little girl sitting with her feelings after classmates say she is fat which makes her feel small and cold when the word fat used to make her feel warm and safe. Sitting in the park with her Baba Francis learns the world possible and thinks about how she can still feel strong and capable and good about herself no matter what others try to make her think. Francis and her father are fat and there’s a lot of descriptions of characters having “soft” bodies like pillows. The artwork is soft and shows characters with a variety of skin types and body types.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that there were a little more to this story because it really does illustrate the harm that words can inflict on someone as a child, especially when it comes to self-worth. This was a very relatable story to me because it basically described what every day in school felt like for me, but without the positivity at the end of the day. I think this is a great book to open up the “possibility” of what different words mean to different people, the importance of being kind, and considering the power of words.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

On word day at school, Francis is excited to share her 'P' words, but as they review past letters, Jericho calls Francis "fat." "Fat" had never been a negative term before, and it changes Francis' outlook for the rest of the day. Her dad stays with her as she processes her feelings and comes up with a new 'P' word--"possible." A good book to illustrate how powerful, and in this case, how mean, words can be. It felt a little too long and didactic to make this as beneficial as it could be. Still, a good book to read aloud to an elementary school class.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

With her father’s help, a girl learns how to reframe a body-shaming experience in the classroom into an opportunity to choose how she feels about herself and the words she uses for self-definition. In the process, she learns a lot of new vocabulary, including an extra special word that makes all the difference. Soft-focused illustrations suggest how difficult it can be to establish and maintain one’s boundaries in the early stages of ego development. End pages feature a thoughtful Author’s Note about body types, self-esteem issues, and healthy responses to bullying.

[Danni Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the gorgeous illustrations! The story felt like it could do more for the protagonist and just didn't quite get there. I would have liked to see the fat-antagonism confronted directly -- just having the teacher make the other kids apologize is not really enough to counter this kind of negative message, especially for a young reader who's already experienced or witnessed body-shaming.

cw: fat-antagonism, children bullying another child

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

When another student calls Francis fat, she feels defeated and embarrassed and sad. Fat doesn't always feel like a bad word, but it did when the student called her fat. After school, her dad notices that she is sad but she doesn't want to talk about it. So he takes her to the park...and together they discover that she can do some amazing things...that so much is POSSIBLE. A great book to talk about body image, name calling, kindness, and also growth mindset.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might have a place in a classroom lesson on mindset. Francis realizes that she does not have to become sad because of another child's rude remarks. There is also a cute thread that involves the teacher's Tuesday language lesson.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. However, it felt like two books to me. I didn't understand how "possible" turned "fat" back into a happy comfortable word for Francis. But there was SO much to love about the pictures that it still managed to be a great book. (Shrug)

[Zoraida Rivera Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Francis is bullied at school, a word that brought her good feelings and memories begins to feel cold and sad. What can she do to see it again in a positive way? And how does her father help? Read to find out. This is a book to help all see their bodies in positive ways.

[Ginny Thurston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a touching and lovely book about how to deal with bullies and how to instill positive emotions and encouragement into children. It is an important book for grandparents to share as their grandchildren start school. The drawings are so luscious too.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story affirming body image appreciation and about the impact of bullying. Shahrzad Maydani's pastel and watercolor illustrations lend a warm glow to the story.

[LS Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely needed book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book about body positivity and sitting with your emotions