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The Bulletin
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All
the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for
Young Ladies (or, Frankly, Anybody Else)
written and illustrated by Laurie Rosenwald
There’s no shortage nowadays of chirpy
books stressing the importance of self-esteem and self-confidence and
all the self- things that would fit under the slightly worn banner of
“You go, girl.” While there’s certainly a place in the world for the
upbeat, this raft of titles seems to offer a rather homogeneous
approach to affirmation that may put off as many young people as it
bolsters with their implication that they’re letting down the side by
doubting themselves. Now comes author-illustrator Rosenwald with a
contrasting approach in this volume that tackles relevant issues of
identity and self-knowledge, but does so in an irreverent mosaic of
collage, weirdness, whimsicality, and sardonic observation that
suggests a stormy meeting between the Post Secret project and beauty
magazines.
The book nails its colors to the mast right from the start in its
opening text spread, a combination of intro and teaser, that markets
itself a little differently: “If you’ve ever felt that you don’t
deserve bottled water, this book is for you. . . . If you’ve ever
stolen a lipstick, this book is for you.” As the title swings into its
stride, each spread offers a single feature/chapter/celebration/vent,
with a blend of playfulness and seriousness throughout in the brief
chunk of text and energetic, childlike layout decorated with reified
photographs, assembled paper shapes, and zesty scribbles. Overall, the
message is a resistance to popular dogmas that homogenize and degrade,
starting with self-esteem itself: “Interesting people are full of
doubt. . . . I think self-esteem is a myth perpetrated by
psychologists, movie stars, magazines, and the pharmaceutical industry.
They want you to think something’s wrong with you because you don’t
have self-esteem like you ‘should.’”
Rosenwald’s main tactic in conveying this message is humor that’s both
loopy and slightly caustic. Hilarious entries include a Mad Libs–style
fill-in-the- blank pastiche of hackneyed advice to young women (“Don’t
let any of those ______ from school pressure you into _____”) and
Rosenwald’s own long list of what’s out (“Running”) and what’s in
(“Skipping”); an unusual and goofily truculent horoscope (“Pisces are
tiny little insignificant crybabies who always think they are being
criticized. They’re right”), and a savage indictment of magazines and
self-help books (“You need them like a turkey needs the ax”), along
with a savagely funny parody of same (“Why I Don’t and You Shouldn’t
Either!” screams a headline). While readers will undoubtedly find any
number of things to argue with in the book’s opinionated assertions
(the statement that “guys shouldn’t drink tea or eat soup” because “it
makes them look like a wuss” will definitely get some challenges, for
instance), it’s pretty likely that the book would rather girls took
material sternly to task than merely accepting it unquestioningly
anyway, since it repeatedly encourages readers to challenge whatever
dictates they encounter.
Beyond that exhortation, it offers readers both a model and inspiration
for creative self-characterization; it’s like a MySpace page married to
the old-school print rigor of a ’zine, and its friendly “anybody can do
this” design will have YAs reaching eagerly for the art supplies.
Ultimately, its features will provide food for entertainment and for
thought. Girls will want to share it with one another, and maybe, if
parents are lucky, share it with them; then they’ll go on to make their
own.
Deborah Stevenson, Editor
Cover image by Laurie Rosenwald from All the Wrong People Have
Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies (or, Frankly,
Anybody Else) ©2009.
Used by permission of Bloomsbury Children's Books.
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This page was last updated on February 1, 2009.