Proud

Deborah Dowson is a children’s librarian in Caledon East, Ontario.

The popular children’s entertainer Fred Penner based this book on his
song “Proud.” The verse encourages children to believe in themselves
and in their dreams, to honour their ideas and their feelings, and to
have the courage to express them. The book promotes the belief that all
of us have something to be proud of.

The illustrator has taken this uplifting theme very literally. In her
drawings, the heads of the characters explode in an unending spray of
energy and verve. Underpinning the unusual style is the idea that our
brains are full-blown and infinite, as our dreams should be. Some
children may require an adult’s help in interpreting the book’s
sometimes complex symbolism. For example, the line “helping a friend
through a difficult time” is accompanied by an illustration in which
two friends console another friend by placing a Band-Aid on her broken
heart.

Although not to everyone’s taste, the drawings capture the spirit of
the verse. The book’s message is one that should be impressed upon
children (and adults) as often as possible. Recommended.