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Sharmilla enjoys life with her husband and 4 children in NY, USA. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, Masters in Counseling and field experience in Applied Behaviour Analysis. As a read-aloud advocate, she hopes her stories encourage bonding between children and their grownups - be it indoors, outdoors, in blanket forts or grass fields! Her hobbies include family time, hiking, photography and reading.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Six friends are excited about the upcoming New Year’s Eve talent show. They all want to participate and share their talents. In Sharmilla Fassbender and Sharminey Selvanathan’s Fantastically Me!, the authors present a cast of animal characters who have amazing talents. Lexi Lemur has a beautiful voice and loves to sing; Marcus Monkey is an acrobat who loves to swing using his tail; Ethan Elephant enjoys performing several ball tricks; and the others have their talents, too. Then, along comes a magnificent, glamorous magician, and the animals start to rethink their talents. Are they good enough? Should they try to dazzle the audience with something different?
Sharmilla Fassbender and Sharminey Selvanathan’s picture book, Fantastically Me!, is a great way to teach young readers the importance of being yourself, believing in yourself, and honoring the talents you have. The key message of this story, which is repeated frequently, is “Belief in oneself is what matters the most!” Each of the characters learns this, starting with Lexi Lemur. The story is told in rhyming verse, a unique talent in itself, and the lyricism of the story will warm the hearts of readers, young and old alike. The illustrations by Silvia Fassbender are bright, bold, colorful, and full of energy and life. The images help bring the story alive. I love the illustrations that accompany Marcus Monkey as he tries to add colorful ribbons to his performance and then ends up becoming tangled in a ribbony mess. That’ll certainly get a chuckle or two from young readers. Overall, this story is beautifully told and presented.
