Mommy, am I pretty?

Young children today are inundated daily with images that create unrealistic and often deceptive expectations of size and beauty. How does growing up in a culture obsessed with outward beauty effect this particularly impressionable and vulnerable demographic? This question amid concerns about raising her own two young daughters sparked the inspiration for her illustrated book, Mommy, Am I Pretty?

While walking home from school young Molly asks her mother what it means to be pretty. Molly’s mother guides her through her day at school, at home and in her community to uncover moments of kindness, generosity and confidence. Molly discovers that small gestures of compassion and friendship give us a loving heart and how trying our best at our favourite activity or sport makes us feel strong and beautiful on the inside. With this discovery she decides that being pretty on the inside is what matters most. Reading Mommy, Am I Pretty? with a child initiates a conversation on how being your best self, giving back to others, and being a thoughtful person is the true image of beauty and one that can’t be created through photo-shop.

The author’s own daughters, Madison and Brooke Denommé-Warren, created the whimsical and captivating illustrations that bring Molly’s day to life. Their hand-drawn and painted illustrations are the perfect complement to the simple verse, offering images of true beauty in the people and world around us from a young girl’s perspective.

MARGOT DENOMMÉ practices criminal law in Toronto, Ontario where she lives with her two daughters. As a mother she is keenly aware of the negative effects media has on growing children, and wrote this book to encourage dialogue between parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, and young children with a view to empower them by teaching that true beauty lies within each and every one of them. As a criminal lawyer, Margot has seen the devastating effects of low self-esteem in youth and the ever-increasing incidents of bullying. In 2014, Margot created The Celebrate You Tour to take her message to both schools and community groups to discuss the importance of developing ourselves from the inside-out by being confident, kind, strong, inclusive and unique.

The messages in Mommy, Am I Pretty? have resonated with prominent Canadian groups and organizers including, The Pediatric Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery division of the Hospital for Sick Children and The Dove Self-Esteem Fund Real Beauty Campaign. Margot has also become involved with a number of organizations in the United States including Girl’s on the Run and PACE Center for Girls.

To invite Margot to your school or for other information contact Margot by calling 416-414-2818 or feel free to e-mail : Margot.Denomme@yahoo.com or visit her web-site www.mommyamiprettybook.com