Happy in Our Skin

It’s terrific to have skin: it keeps the outsides out and the insides in. This beautiful book celebrates how ingenious skin is – when you fall, your skin will seal itself with a scab and heal underneath, for instance – and how personal and unique it is to all of us, with dimples, birthmarks and freckles, as well as a huge spectrum of shade and colour. Skin is always there, under our clothes, and everyone’s skin is different. Isn’t that marvellous?

Finishing with a riotous, warm and rather splendid street party, Happy in Our Skin also reminds us of the more emotional meaning of the book’s title, which is of course the reminder that everyone has a right to feel loved, secure and accepted for who they are.

The community of families depicted in the book are nicely inclusive, featuring a range of genuinely observed cultures and identities, and the message at the end – 'What a wonderful world! Such a hullabaloo, with all of us in it' – ends the book on a high note.