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Children’s book author Joni Halabi first entrée into publishing was spurred by what she saw as a necessity. A single mother by choice who lovingly took a less customary path to having a child on her own, Joni was frustrated by the lack of selection for picture books that depicted families like hers. Though many “welcome baby” and storybooks addressed varying family structures, few spoke about single mothers by choice. She wanted her daughter to see her own type of family represented, so she wrote one and Sweet Little You was born.
The books that Joni writes are personal stories based on books she wishes existed about her life’s path. Sweet Little You is the book she wished she had for her daughter when she was born. She hopes that her book resonates with other families like hers who will appreciate their relatively unique family structure being portrayed in a story that their child can relate to.
Joni is a web developer at Georgetown University and conference speaker who writes technical articles as well as a blog focusing on her life and journey to becoming a mother. When she isn’t busy writing poignant stories for families and children, she enjoys running, doing yoga, reading, listening to podcasts, and seeing live music near her home in the Washington, D.C. area. A new pursuit of Joni’s is learning to play the ukulele. Sweet Little You is her debut picture book.
Reviewed by Erin Nicole Cochran for Readers' Favorite
Sweet Little You by Joni Halabi is an inspirational children’s picture book about a mother sharing her journey of donor-assisted reproduction in a way that a child might be able to understand. The narration is a lovely rhyme that simplifies what it meant for her to have the baby and the family they’ve created together. There is a happiness that washes over you as you read this story and you find yourself in awe of this family of two.
Joni Halabi’s Sweet Little You is a treasured and unique look into the personal world of a single-parent family via a donor. Undoubtedly there are few children’s picture books such as this available today. At the end of the book, the author establishes that it was one of the reasons she wanted to write Sweet Little You so their family could be seen. Soft, cherubic faces reach up at you from the pages created by illustrator Lisa Wee, which tug at your emotions just as well as the words they are coupled with. The colors green, pink, and yellow bring to mind spring and summer and give a happy effect. Sweet Little You is the perfect way to introduce a child to how they came to be in the world with words full of a mother’s love. There aren’t many things that are truly needed other than the love and support of a parent.
