Kimberly Redway
‘Beauty Spot’ is a story about self-acceptance and building a positive body image. At eleven years old, Emmie is considering how she is different from other children her age, as well as finding out that her older sister, Amber, is struggling with her own body. Through this story, it was important to me to explore different types of hair, backgrounds and how we don’t all look the same. I looked at tips from organisations online offering information and advice which sparked the idea for ‘Beauty Spot’. I wanted to write about body image for a young person and with the help of Nanna Pearl, Emmie is also able to understand her feelings about how she looks.
Here are some ways that Emmie was able to gain better self-acceptance based on the advice from online resources, including Mental Health Foundation and Young Minds, and how this book might help you to approach similar conversations with your class.
Being offered a space to talk
Emmie’s family give her the space to speak about how she’s feeling about her body. Whether she felt positive or negative, she was able to talk about it. Through this, Emmie was better able to hear about how she might be different, but she is then taught that this isn’t a bad thing. Being able to confide in your support system is important as it can reveal the child’s inner world. It was important to me to include this in the book as it was through speaking to Nanna Pearl that her parents could see she wasn’t feeling positive about her body.
Teachers could approach this in the classroom by speaking about differences in race, body and background and offering children the opportunity to approach them about any concerns they might have. They could also include an exercise for children which approaches these differences as neutral. This way, it can be seen that being different isn’t bad but a part of life and if they feel negative there is a space to discuss this.
Exploring a new hobby
Nanna Pearl recommends ballet for Emmie as a way to explore dance and physical activity. The focus is then on having a place to make friends and do something exciting. This gives Emmie a new focus and a place to be herself. She no longer has to concentrate on how she feels about her body but on the new hobby she has been introduced to.
In the classroom, teachers could introduce pupils to different activities they might want to explore outside of the classroom. This could include dancing like the characters in the book, or trips to places where they can explore new environments. The focus will be on activity and not working out for the sake of changing the body. They can do activities within their own ability, and they can learn that moving can be fun as well as therapeutic.
Writing a journal and writing letters to others
In the book, Emmie and Amber communicate through letters as a way to uncover their feelings and share them with each other. This also made Amber feel more comfortable to reveal how she was struggling with her own body image.
Writing can often be a useful tool to understand yourself better. So, whether writing letters to yourself, to someone else, or even as a journal, it can lead to better self-acceptance through reflection. You could consider setting your class a writing task like this to help them think about their own wellbeing.
Considering how you might be different
In the book, Emmie and her friends are encouraged to compliment each other on their differences. Learning more about the way we are different can show just how varied the world is. Sometimes it helps to see yourself through new eyes.
A way that you can invite children to learn about difference is to do an activity which encourages them to speak about themselves. They could present an object that is important to them. The children could speak about their parents or caregivers or new developments that will allow children to think about difference.
The world we live in is so diverse and I hope the ideas for activities will be useful for teaching children about this diversity. I really enjoyed sharing the story of Emmie and hope that ‘Beauty Spot’ can help children discover the tools that may be needed to gain better self-acceptance.
Kimberly is the author of three children’s books, including ‘Beauty Spot’, a chapter book in the Big Cat Read On series. She gained a degree in Creative Writing with English Literature in 2010 and a master's in Management and Entrepreneurship in 2019. She has run two creative projects, which includes The Gentlemen Press, which resulted in an anthology written by young people aged 13-21 years old. She is based in Birmingham.