> Skip to content
  • Published: 31 August 2021
  • ISBN: 9780525582120
  • Imprint: RHUS Children's Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $44.99

Becoming Vanessa




For readers of Alma and How She Got Her Name and The King of Kindegarten, this story will help kids just starting school transform from timid caterpillars into beautiful butterflies so they can love who they are.

Get ready to go back to school with this inclusive, empathetic story that will help kids new to the classroom transform from timid caterpillars into beautiful butterflies who love exactly who they are!

On Vanessa's first day of school, her parents tell her it will be easy to make friends. Vanessa isn't so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn't what she'd hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.

The next day, she picks out a plain outfit, and tells her mom that her name is too long. She just wants to blend in, with a simple name like the other girls--why couldn't her parents have named her Megan or Bella? But when her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, it gives her the confidence she needs to introduce her classmates to the real Vanessa. Perfect for readers of Alma and How She Got Her Name and The King of Kindergarten.

  • Published: 31 August 2021
  • ISBN: 9780525582120
  • Imprint: RHUS Children's Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $44.99

Also by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

See all

Praise for Becoming Vanessa

Praise for Just Like Me:
"A dynamic, uplifting, and welcoming world of girls."--Kirkus

"Thoughtful, inclusive, and celebratory"--Publishers Weekly

"Bursting with positivity, this would be a great book to use in primary school classrooms when discussing issues of friendship, diversity, and self-esteem."--Booklist

penguin pop image
penguin pop image