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Winner of the 2025 Kirkus Prize! A joyful celebration of an oft-maligned body part — the belly!
Maddie and her mom spend a sunny day at the local public pool where she meets and greets friends and neighbors. Maddie is waist-high on most of them, and she knows there’s an interesting person behind every belly she passes — like Jackie, the artist with a splatter of ice cream across their belly. Maddie’s splatter painting often leaves Mama speechless, too!
The poolside belly parade keeps Maddie musing: How bellies can make excellent tables, how hard some people work to keep their bellies flat when Maddie prefers her belly full, and how you should never, ever stick your hands in other people’s bellies, no matter how soft and doughy they might look. (Maddie’s cat taught her that the hard way.)
As Maddie dances, swims and makes the long climb up to the diving board, Thao Lam’s celebrated cut-paper collage portrays bellies and bodies of all shapes and sizes — bellies with scars, tattooed bellies, growing bellies, growling bellies, bellies with six-packs, stretch marks, insulin monitors, freckles and more — proving that every belly deserves its place in the sun.
Key Text Features
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
“A unique, joyful celebration of bellies, bodies, and beauty.” — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“An exuberant love letter to all sorts of bellies and the people they belong to.” — School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Everybelly's joyful celebration of all bellies and bodies makes it a must-have for all picture book collections.” — Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] loving, wide-ranging tribute to the beauty, variety, and power of individual bodies — and bellies.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“An amusing, original look at bodies.” — Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW
“The delightful Everybelly will elicit warm hugs and belly laughs alike as it celebrates bodily diversity.” — BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“Lam's use of cut paper to create each of the pages gives the story a tactile feeling ... to a visually pleasing effect.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Lam’s cut-paper collages brilliantly celebrate body positivity.” — Globe and Mail
“Children will be checking everyone's bellies after reading this [book], but be proud — every belly is okay.” — Winnipeg Free Press