Item: What Makes Me...Me
Rating: 5
Author: Gina

What Makes Me…Me by Anne Baldwin | Giveaway, Review, and Author Guest Post

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me with the information for this tour.

What's in this post!

Book Details

What Makes Me...Me by Anne Baldwin
Published by Independent on June 17, 2021
Genres: Children's Picture Book
Format: Paperback
Pages: 34

What Makes Me...Me is a story about harnessing your super-powered brain. We are all special and unique and our differences are what makes us all special. Especially written for those kids with neurological differences.

Anne Baldwin lives in Metro-Detroit with her husband Nick and their two boys Levi and Gus. Anne is a fierce advocate for neurodiverse kids and is passionate about stopping the stigma around Tourette Syndrome.

Levi Baldwin lives in Metro-Detroit with his parents, brother, 3 cats, and his leopard gecko named Cool Colors. Levi was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at 5 years old and wants people to know that every kid is special and unique even if they may look or act differently.

Source: iRead Book Tours, Received from the author or publisher for review.

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Purchase Links for What Makes Me…Me

Amazon-OneLink for all countries BookShop/IndieBound

Blackwell’s The Book Depository

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My thoughts on What Makes Me…Me

What Makes Me…Me by Anne & Levi Baldwin is an educational children’s book for readers of all ages.

Though a mere 34 pages long, the story touches on neurodiversity and its stigmas. There are simple explanations for Tourette Syndrome and other brain disorders that affect many youths.

The message of inclusion and how children (and adults) can learn to be more accepting of someone that is different comes through loud and clear. Different isn’t wrong or bad, it’s unique and special.

Our brain tells our bodies to breathe and pump blood without our input. Sometimes our brain sends other signals such as tics, wiggles, or outbursts. These aren’t wrong, simply misunderstood. Just like each body is different, so is each brain. We should embrace what makes each person special.

The illustrations are beautifully done, bringing the book to life for little readers.

What Makes Me … Me is written from a child’s point of view which adds the benefit of sharing the feelings, not just facts.

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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I love to read books through my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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About Anne Baldwin

Anne Baldwin is a wife, mom, and fierce advocate for neurodiverse kids. Anne wrote her first book What Makes Me...Me after her son Levi was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Passionate about stopping the stigma around Tourette-Syndrome, Anne hopes that her books about embracing your differences as what makes you unique will help kids with Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, and other neurological disorders to feel included and accepted by everyone.

Anne lives in metro Detroit with her husband Nick, their sons Levi and Gus, 3 cats, a dog, and a leopard gecko.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

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A few words from the author

“So I Never Meant to be an Author”

It’s true, I was never meant to be an author. Sure, I’m a creative, I love the arts, and I did decently well in all of my English classes, but writing a book is never something I thought I would add to my resume. But then I had my son.

My son Levi was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (and a host of other neurological disorders) at the age of 5. I saw his struggle with feeling like he didn’t fit in and looking at his differences as a negative. I saw that there was very little representation in classrooms for kids like him.

So, I sought to change this. I figured what better way to create something that was easy for kids of all ages to understand than a picture book. Because of self-doubt, I went back and forth on if I could actually do this. But then
in the Spring of 2020 when the world was shut down, I saw no better time to start and got to work.

Taking Levi’s experiences as well as my feelings towards his struggles and strengths, I created What Makes Me…Me. Since our kids were young, we’ve celebrated their differences as what makes them special and how our differences are in fact our superpowers.

I wanted to share this message not only with other kids like my son but kids who may have never met someone with Tourette Syndrome. This book works as a stepping stone for kids to learn about the basics of Tourette and open a larger conversation with the adults in their life.

I don’t just want kids to understand what neurological differences are, I want to teach them compassion towards others who may not look, or act like them.