You Can!
Alexandra Stick and Steve Antony
Otter-Barry Books
Here’s a book that began with children: those children from diverse backgrounds who responded to Alexandra Strickland’s question what they would say to their younger selves to inspire, reassure and enthuse them about the future. This wonderful book with Steve’s brilliantly inclusive illustrations using fourteen child characters, represents their answers.
We then follow these characters as they grow from babies (on the front endpapers), to toddlers, to young children, to older children and finally, into young adults (on the back endpapers). The cast of characters truly is diverse, as their wide variety of interests, identities, friendships and futures develop as readers turn the pages.
It’s definitely no holds barred: you can be anything you want, do anything you want (including ‘love a good picture book whatever your age’) hurrah! –
safe in the knowledge that it’s fine to be sad or angry, to talk about your feelings and discover what makes you happy.
Equally, it’s important to have big dreams and pursue them using whatever path it takes, be a leader or a follower, not forgetting to make time for playfulness and silliness along the way.
It’s important to realise that those fears of yesterday will be today’s challenges and tomorrow’s achievements, practice can be fun and learning should be enjoyable.
We see that seemingly small individual actions can inspire other people and together all those small somethings can and do make a difference. Equally though everybody has rights.
Not everybody needs to do things in the same way, but all honest ways must be equally valid: doing something differently is doing it nonetheless.
On this journey through life, it’s crucial to know that making mistakes is an integral part of the learning process; it’s important too, that you forgive yourself as well as others, and ask adults for help if you need. Be yourself, for yourself, determined, supportive, an individual who doesn’t allow others to categorise you, is kind and empathetic: self-belief is key probably now more than ever.
Hugely empowering and inspiring, this a book that needs to be in every home and classroom. Children and adults will love the gentle humour and playfulness in Steve’s illustrations: each spread deserves close study.
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he changes his mind and moves on, offering his tray of delicious-looking, colourful treats to several other animals including one who has the enormous cheek – (but then it is a whale) to retort, “I want them all! Then bring me some more.” Unsurprisingly none of the answers meet with his approval and the offer is hastily withdrawn. 
It’s not until the resolute panda encounters lemur that he receives a polite answer with that all -important p-word included. So pleased is Mr Panda on hearing the elusive word being uttered (he even gets a “Thank you very much!”) that he gives the charming creature the whole box 
with the throwaway remark, “You’re welcome. I don’t like doughnuts.” A wonderfully stylish and witty lesson in basic manners: The sight of that solemn-faced panda sporting a tiny paper hat bearing the single word Doughnuts and remaining impassive in the face of rudeness, is enormously endearing. With such artistry I’m sure Mr P. will quickly become a firm favourite with all who have dealings with young children as well as the book’s intended audience themselves. The latter will, I suspect feel a sense of anticipatory delight at every turn of the page, until that all-important, topsy-turvy panda/lemur encounter. With its deliciously droll illustrations, cleverly patterned text, inviting layout and memorable words young readers will want to try reading it for themselves after sharing it with an adult a couple of times. 
Mr P. will undoubtedly provide a third winner for Mr A.
where zebras and antelopes graze and ‘Black-and-white butterflies everywhere/Fill the flower-scented air.’ 
The little white dog meanwhile is transported to the snowy, icy arctic. There ‘On the shore stand polar bears, / While arctic foxes chase arctic hares.’ 
and seals and great whales swim in the chilly waters below which black-and-white fishes glide, walruses rest on the ice-floes and sea birds nest on the rocks. Come morning, the canine pals reunite to play together side-by-side once again and to recount to one another the details of their dream-world travels. 
Stylish retro, yet timeless illustrations, grace every page demonstrating just how perfectly Ipcar balances form and colour. Use your local bookshop: 
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