New children's picture book by child author illustrates importance of self-love

DALLAS - March 4, 2020 - PRLog -- A new book by a 9-year-old author aims to help minority girls say "NO" to the haters and embrace a positive view of themselves.

In "Perfect the Way I Am," 9-year-old author, actress and YouTube influencer Khloe Bell shares a story she relayed to her mom as a preschooler. As a 4-year-old, she told her mom a story that her mom, nonprofit founder, author, and speaker Keaidy Selmon promised to help her daughter turn into a real book. The result is Perfect the Way I Am, a fictional story that centers on a girl named Kylie who has been bestowed with the superpower of being able to change how she looks with a few magic words.

One day, Kylie keeps getting teased by some of her classmates over things she cannot control, like her hair, her nose, and the color of her skin. So she uses her powers to make herself look like everyone else.

When Kylie gets home from school, she is shocked to see that her mother can no longer recognize her because she is not the same without the things that made her special and unique. In that moment, Kylie understands that God made her perfect just the way she was.

Perfect the Way I Am is an anti-bullying picture book illustrated in full color by Michael Bishop that encourages African American girls to be confident and embrace the idea that they are "perfect the way they are."

Part of the cost of publishing Perfect the Way I Am was covered by Positive Visionaries and Innovators Building Excellence (Positive V.I.B.E.), a non-profit organization founded by Selmon in 2015. Positive V.I.B.E. connects local innovators and artists with at-risk youth in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, helping them harness their imagination and gain skills to build their own platforms through mentorship by experienced creators. Learn more at webuildexcellence.org.

Selmon is herself an author and publisher of several books who started writing as an 8-year-old. She worked closely with her daughter Khloe Bell to set her story to rhyme and work through the entire publishing process.

Perfect the Way I Am is now available in paperback format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at bookstores everywhere. Learn more and order the book online at https://www.perfectthewayiam.com/.

View a YouTube video from Khloe about Perfect the Way I Am at https://youtu.be/Ojw8a6qXu6o.



Follow Khloe Bell on Instagram at @sweetaskoko or with the hashtag #KhloeB and on Facebook at @/authorkhloebell.