Love Your Selfie is a picture book featuring three pre-teen friends who start an initiative to help their classmates gain confidence in the face of social media pressure.
Best friends Lauren, Lisa, and Nicole post selfies on their social media channels while preparing for their first day of middle school. Nicole is shocked when one of her classmates replies to her photo with a picture of a troll. Her friends comfort her, helping her realize that despite how others act, she should always love herself.
They then devise a plan to turn this into a campaign called “Love your Selfie,” and get approval from the principal to hold an assembly about the initiative, which focuses on self-confidence. Although Nicole is nervous to speak in public, she gives a speech that brings the school together and, at book’s end, is grateful for her friends and buoyed by her own actions.
Love Your Selfie is uplifting and shows the power of having good friends to support you through difficult experiences. The book does not focus on the boy who posted the troll image; instead, it shows Nicole rising above his behavior and choosing to help others gain confidence as well.
While this works, the book’s target audience is unclear. The characters are aged 11-12 based on their grade level, and the story is both text-heavy and uses some complex vocabulary (“intensely,” “materializing”); however, it’s presented as a picture book, typically targeted through age 8. It seems unlikely older students would be interested in reading a picture book, especially since this format limits the depth of the story and characters. The plot is extremely linear without room for setbacks or surprises. The illustrations are workmanlike, supporting the text without significantly adding to the story.
While its target audience is uncertain, Love Your Selfie is an upbeat and straightforward story about celebrating yourself even when others don’t.
