Author, actor, and musician Nico Tortorella’s first children’s book is an empowering assertion of the multitudes we all contain. The protagonist, Olivette, boldly says on the first page, “I have special powers/To be all I want to be./I am Olivette,/And all of it is me!”
From happy moods to grumpy ones; from feeling like a queen to feeling like a king, Olivette encompasses many things, and says, “I am the space between it all,/So today I’ll dress just like me!” Olivette shares favorite activities with readers, from playing hockey to cooking, and “just as water is fluid” Olivette is “ever-changing.” This fluidity could apply to various aspects of the self, including gender; Olivette is never gendered in the text (though reads as a girl). (I have tagged the book “Gender creative girl” and “Nonbinary/genderqueer kid” so that people seeking such representation can find this book and evaluate it for themselves, not because I want to label Olivette one way or another.)
Olivette tells readers that they, too, contain such diversity, and that every one is unique but equal. Each of us is “made by a higher power:/No one better, no one worse,” Olivette notes. It’s a nice statement of equality, although atheist and agnostic readers may balk at the reference to a “higher power”; others may appreciate it.
Creating change in the world begins with embracing everyone and sharing our love, Olivette continues, as the illustrations by Melissa Kashiwagi show a community gathering for a joyous festival. The book ends with an affirmation of our multi-faceted selves and the love within Olivette and all of us.
Tortorella explained on Instagram, ‘Instead of the familiar “you can be anything you want to be when you grow up,’ Olivette offers a fresh perspective. It empowers you to recognize that YOU ALREADY EMBODY THE ENTIRETY OF THE UNIVERSE WITHIN YOU.”
The book’s light take on that possibly daunting message just might encourage young readers is to celebrate all parts of themselves and to be more understanding and loving of others.
Olivette has tan skin and dark brown hair; other characters reflect a range of racial and ethnic identities.
