“This book is written with such care. My one year old finds it totally lyrical and absorbing, and the 7-year olds I teach are quoting parts of the book and using the writing as a jumping off point to talk positively about their own bodies! The illustrations are gorgeous, and every kid I've shown it to totally loves it! I also love it as an adult.. good reminder for us all.” -Phil Cohen (Amazon)

  • Education Choices

    ‘I Love My Body Because,’ was featured in Education Choices celebrating the magic of embracing ourselves and its importance in children’s literature. Co-authored with Nomi Ellenson.

  • 2023 Rise Honoree

    I Love My Body Because is a 2023 Rise Honoree. More about Rise: A Feminist Book Project — Each year Rise: A Feminist Book Project recommends recent books with significant feminist content for readers from birth to 18 years old.

  • A Mighty Girl

    "I Love My Body Because" and the Power of Body Positivity: An Interview with Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson

  • Service95

    Issue 022: The Beauty Issue. It creates dialogue around fatphobia and the importance of self-love, and features Jessica Defino’s newsletter ‘The Unpublishable’, which is dismantling the industry as we know it

Read & Learn with Simon Kids

“I wish a book like this existed when I was growing up, but it makes my heart so full to know that it will be available to make children feel beautiful in whatever body they go around life in now and for years to come” -Niki Metcalf

Hairspray actress Niki Metcalf reads I Love My Body Because by Authors Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson and illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina

Interviews

Burnt Toast

Body Posi Kid Lit with Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson

Burnt Toast is a weekly conversations about finding ways to dismantle diet culture and fatphobia, especially through parenting, health and fashion. (But non-parents like it too!) Hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith, journalist and author of The Eating Instinct and the forthcoming Fat Kid Phobia

In This Episode…They get into the importance of representation in kidlit, the way publishing is slowly—too slowly—starting to change in this direction. Shelly and Nomi also tell some really delightful stories about how kids and parents are responding to their work.

Listen to the Podcast Interview →

All The Write Marketing

Writing to Heal: Shelly Anand Shares Her Journey Into Picture Books

All The Write Marketing is a publishing podcast by Cardinal Rule Press, a children’s publishing company located in Central Michigan but connected globally.

In each episode, Host, and Founder of CRP, Maria Dismondy connects with literary agents from all walks of life to discuss tips and useful information for writers and industry insiders alike

Ep. 56: In this episode, you will learn:

  • How Shelly went from legal work to children’s books

  • How writer’s groups can help your writing process

  • How to use constructive criticism to your benefit when writing a book

Listen to the Podcast Interview →