Chris Baron is the award winning author of Novels for Children including ALL OF ME an NCTE Notable Book THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book a SLJ Best Book of 2021 the forthcoming novels THE GRAY 23 FOREST HEART 24 from Feiwel Friends Macmillan and SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS a Middle Grade novel co authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books 23 and editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS A MIDDLE GRADE PASSOVER ANTHOLOGY from Abrams 24 He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center He grew up in New York City but he completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU HE lives in San Diego with his family He is represented by Rena Rossner from the Deborah H Chris Baron is the award winning author of Novels for Children including ALL OF ME an NCTE Notable Book THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book a SLJ Best Book of 2021 the forthcoming novels THE GRAY 23 FOREST HEART 24 from Feiwel Friends Macmillan and SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS a Middle Grade novel co authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books 23 and editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS A MIDDLE GRADE PASSOVER ANTHOLOGY from Abrams 24 He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center He grew up in New York City but he completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU HE lives in San Diego with his family He is represented by Rena Rossner from the Deborah Harris Literary Agency Twitter baronchrisbaronInstagram christhebearbaron site_link Beautifully written brilliant and neccesary Matt de la Pena Newbery Medalist Ari has body image issues After a move across the country his parents work selling and promoting his mother s paintings and sculptures Ari s bohemian mother needs space to create and his father is gone for long stretches of time on sales trips Meanwhile Ari makes new friends Pick the gamer the artsy Jorge and the troubled Lisa He is also relentlessly bullied because he s overweight but he can t tell his parents they re simply not around enough to listen After an upsetting incident Ari s mom suggests he go on a diet and she gives him a book to help But the book and the diet can t fix everything As Ari faces the demise of his parents marriage he also feels himself changing both emotionally and physically Here is a much needed story about accepting the imperfect in oneself and in life All of MeI was lucky enough to read an ARC of this luminous novel before it was published Written in verse ALL OF ME is the story of Ari a 13 year old boy growing up in the San Francisco area after recently moving from New York Ari is overweight and as a result he has to deal with not so subtle and sometimes brutal bullying from other kids This book is about a summer Ari spends at the beach with his mom a bohemian artist and his friends It s about his journey to lose weight prepare for his Bar Mitzvah and become comfortable in his own skin Ari is a thoughtful and kind young man and his determined gentleness in the face of violence verbal and physical is one of the most remarkable things about this book This is the kind of boy book we need if anything is the antidote to toxic masculinity it s stories like this Gorgeous writing transports the reader to the California coast and to age 13 when anything is still possible and the future is yet to be written Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi Who Am I The life in my head seems so different from the life outsidewhere I am so bigthat everyone staresbut no one sees the real me. What a poignant story I m worried that this book will slip through the cracks and go unnoticed I truly hope it doesn t It s a wonderful story written in verse about a seventh grade boy Ari who struggles with his weight and body image What I loved about this story is that you get a deeper understanding of Ari s emotional issues and his feelings about his weight problem He s a likable boy strong and sensitive and you want to pick him up every time somebody knocks him down His character has a lot of growth and watching his transformation was so amazing and heartwarming The author did a fantastic job allowing the reader to walk vicariously in Ari s shoes so that you can get an idea of what it feels like when people mistreat you because of your weight and see the demons people face both internally and externally This is an important story one that shouldn t be missed especially in an era where the media tries to fit us all in a mold and shames those that don t fit in it It s a story about friendship compassion and empathy It s a lesson in understanding those around you and learning sensitivity because we re not made of steel and your support could mean the world to somebody else Highly recommended. CW anti Semitism body shaming and self harm Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi I ll be honest I rarely read verse novels or contemporary fiction I read this book mainly because I had the honor of editing a near final version of it. I definitely don t say this about all the books I work on but this book grabbed me from the first chapter and didn t let me go The characters the story the prose the poetry all of it is beautiful and engaging I finished reading this book wanting to be a better person That s the highest praise I can give Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi Growing up overweight is a special kind of hell and Chris Baron articulates it perfectly in this beautiful novel in verse Ari s dilemma is so much than mean names and husky jeans and his solution requires much than the diet book his doctor gives him It s as much an emotional struggle as it is a physical one Told in lyrical poems spanning a summer where everything changes for Ari we go for the ride with him traveling comfortably in the pocket of his ever loosening pants We feel every bit of his anguish his determination his satisfaction his frustration and ultimately his sense of freedom that comes with accepting all of it accepting himself This is a book for everyone those who are walking a path similar to Ari s struggling to achieve self acceptance for whatever reason those who want to understand what it s like to be an overweight kid and maybe especially for those who think that being overweight is a simple matter of eating too much Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi It takes a lot to make crusty old me dissolve into a puddle of tears but Chris Baron s debut verse novel ALL OF ME had me pretty much bawling from page 100 This is the most moving MG novel I ve read about how it feels to be a big kid on a very deep level Beyond the taunting and bullying Ari experiences Baron gets into Ari s clothes into his skin describing precisely how it feels for a waist band to dig into flesh the extreme vulnerability of wearing a bathing suit a shirt hiked up to expose too much skin and the hunger hunger hunger that never seems to let up In Ari Rosenberg s life so much revolves around the ever present diet book the way people look at him when he takes that extra piece of pizza and the self hatred that makes Ari actually damage himself and it s all heartbreaking Although this is the story of a fat kid growing up coming to terms with himself and making his way in the world there s much going on Ari s artist mom and emotionally distant dad are divorcing he s negotiating the rituals for a bar mitzvah that may or may not happen dealing with a crush on his best friend Lisa who has plenty of problems of her own and making new friends during a California summer that is in many ways idyllic There are deeply touching scenes with Ari s rabbi who is both gentle and wise The verse is deftly handled and gorgeous it feels just right for Ari s sensibility I truly loved this book I loved Ari Rosenberg and I hope ALL OF ME will find its way into every school library and into the hands of many middle grade readers not only so big kids can see themselves portrayed with such sensitivity and beauty but so that all kids can experience what being big feels like and share Ari s hopeful and triumphant story Note ALL OF ME publishes in June 2019 I read an Advance Readers Copy provided by the publisher Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi
All of Me By Chris Baron
1250305985
9781250305985
English
320
Hardcover
Ari struggles with his weight With his family With preparing for his bar mitzvah But while Ari struggles he also triumphs Succeeds in coming to terms with the imperfections in himself and in the world around him Ari s journey in ALL OF ME which I had the privilege of reading as an ARC pre publication is at once familiar and extraordinary The kind of novel that is needed by and will be so valuable to kids uncomfortable in their own skin for any number of reasons And speaking on a personal note ALL OF ME is the kind of novel that I would have benefitted from when I was a kid as well. I m so very glad this book exists and future readers will be too Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi I really wanted to like this book I went in hoping to find some quality fat representation Jewish representation and a great upper MG bridge to YA book And I understand why a lot of people have had a positive reaction to an emotional story about a fat 7th grader coming into his own and finding some sort of self love But I didn t get that from this book What I read was a story about a boy who is told he is fat by everyone around him and that being fat is bad However he seems like a fairly active 7th grader he rides his bike he walks places at one point he is running around with his friends but then later is upset he doesn t move as quickly as the other kids in his class His eating habits show a pattern of self soothing through food because he is struggling with his parents fighting and also being mercilessly bullied in school At this point I could have gotten on board with a story that depicts binge eating disorder and how he finds self acceptance through intuitive eating and therapy Instead we see him go on a horrible crash diet quit therapy after one visit and find self acceptance only after losing weight and altering his physical appearance Despite his insistence that his self acceptance doesn t come from this weight loss he hyper focuses on it to the point where he even tells us the size pant he is wearing to his first day of school I can t get on board with a story that ends with Ari losing the weight through incredibly unsafe means somehow mastering intuitive eating without the help of a dietitian or therapist and then goes to school to be lavished with compliments on how great he looks This book super missed the mark and I m very sad about that Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi There is something almost kaleidoscopic about this novel in verse which beautifully layers themes of loss friendship acceptance and emotional growth Ari is a boy unhappy in his own skin Although he struggles with a cross country move and his parents relationship problems the main thing that troubles Ari is his weight there s too much of it When he becomes a target he embarks on a diet and many changes ensue Although some of this book is about what Ari hopes to lose it is also very much about everything he gains especially his friendships Ari is lovable even if he doesn t know it and his story is important and relatable Highly recommended Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi ALL OF ME is a raw and powerful novel in verse about the summer after Ari Rosensweig finishes seventh grade All his life Ari has heard and seen and felt this question coming from others Why are you so fat His artist mother and often disappearing father are divorcing At school he is bullied and he desperately wants to fit in. Ari feels all of this deeply and fully and often so heartbreakingly And over this summer while building friendships and testing out a diet and preparing for his belated bar mitzvah with his wonderful rabbi he wrestles with that paradox of growth that he cannot change until he accepts and loves himself as he is flaws weight and all All of himself Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi This main character grabs you by the heartstrings on page one and doesn t let go This heart warming sometimes painful sometimes comforting read is loaded with problems challenges and tender moments many readers will identify with Loved every single page Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi.. Written entirely in verse Chris Baron s writing glows on every page with the warmth of California in the summer and Ari s kind genuine self
Ari struggles with his weight With his family With preparing for his bar mitzvah But while Ari struggles he also triumphs Succeeds in coming to terms with the imperfections in himself and in the world around him Ari s journey in ALL OF ME which I had the privilege of reading as an ARC pre publication is at once familiar and extraordinary The kind of novel that is needed by and will be so valuable to kids uncomfortable in their own skin for any number of reasons And speaking on a personal note ALL OF ME is the kind of novel that I would have benefitted from when I was a kid as well. I m so very glad this book exists and future readers will be too Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi I really wanted to like this book I went in hoping to find some quality fat representation Jewish representation and a great upper MG bridge to YA book And I understand why a lot of people have had a positive reaction to an emotional story about a fat 7th grader coming into his own and finding some sort of self love But I didn t get that from this book What I read was a story about a boy who is told he is fat by everyone around him and that being fat is bad However he seems like a fairly active 7th grader he rides his bike he walks places at one point he is running around with his friends but then later is upset he doesn t move as quickly as the other kids in his class His eating habits show a pattern of self soothing through food because he is struggling with his parents fighting and also being mercilessly bullied in school At this point I could have gotten on board with a story that depicts binge eating disorder and how he finds self acceptance through intuitive eating and therapy Instead we see him go on a horrible crash diet quit therapy after one visit and find self acceptance only after losing weight and altering his physical appearance Despite his insistence that his self acceptance doesn t come from this weight loss he hyper focuses on it to the point where he even tells us the size pant he is wearing to his first day of school I can t get on board with a story that ends with Ari losing the weight through incredibly unsafe means somehow mastering intuitive eating without the help of a dietitian or therapist and then goes to school to be lavished with compliments on how great he looks This book super missed the mark and I m very sad about that Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi There is something almost kaleidoscopic about this novel in verse which beautifully layers themes of loss friendship acceptance and emotional growth Ari is a boy unhappy in his own skin Although he struggles with a cross country move and his parents relationship problems the main thing that troubles Ari is his weight there s too much of it When he becomes a target he embarks on a diet and many changes ensue Although some of this book is about what Ari hopes to lose it is also very much about everything he gains especially his friendships Ari is lovable even if he doesn t know it and his story is important and relatable Highly recommended Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi ALL OF ME is a raw and powerful novel in verse about the summer after Ari Rosensweig finishes seventh grade All his life Ari has heard and seen and felt this question coming from others Why are you so fat His artist mother and often disappearing father are divorcing At school he is bullied and he desperately wants to fit in. Ari feels all of this deeply and fully and often so heartbreakingly And over this summer while building friendships and testing out a diet and preparing for his belated bar mitzvah with his wonderful rabbi he wrestles with that paradox of growth that he cannot change until he accepts and loves himself as he is flaws weight and all All of himself Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi This main character grabs you by the heartstrings on page one and doesn t let go This heart warming sometimes painful sometimes comforting read is loaded with problems challenges and tender moments many readers will identify with Loved every single page Childrens Poetry Fantasy Science Fiction Religi.. Written entirely in verse Chris Baron s writing glows on every page with the warmth of California in the summer and Ari s kind genuine self