Shrinking Violet by Cari Best

Illustrated by Giselle Potter. 40 p., Farrar/Melanie Kroupa, 2001. Sometimes when you can't bear to be seen, there are ways to use your strengths to feel good about yourself. Violet is smart, talented, and creative. Because she's highly sensitive, she's not only painfully anxious about being seen, but also a keen observer and a brilliant imitator. But one of her classmates, Irwin, is particularly mean to her, and this embarrasses her, often making her wish that she could disappear. Violet's teacher comes up with a wise plan to give her a part in the school play about the solar system: she assigns her the part of Lady Space, who speaks from offstage. Violet feels capable of performing this role and is relieved that she doesn't feel like shrinking away. At the performance, Irwin (playing Mars), seems to forget what to do, and moves around the stage aimlessly. When it's time for him to speak, he's nowhere to be found. Spontaneously, Violet not only imitates his voice, but also ad-libs hilarious lines for him. Now it's Irwin's turn to be embarrassed. As Lady Space, Violet becomes the star of the show. And when Irwin resumes insulting her afterward, she finds that she doesn't feel embarrassed - instead, she feels self-confident. She knows that she's fine just the way she is. This engaging, intelligent, whimsically-illustrated story shows children that even when they feel chronically vulnerable to embarrassment, they can acknowledge, develop, and use their strengths, and ultimately, feel confident instead of ashamed. Ages 5-8