Welcome to the Can I Have Another Snack? Fat Positive Kids’ Media roundup; a running list of all the coolest books, shows, movies and more for kids and teens, featuring positive representations of fat people.
For anyone who is new, just so we’re clear, around here ‘fat’ isn’t a bad word. We are using it to describe body size, in a similar way that we would call someone tall, or thin. I’m taking my cues from fat activists and scholars who have powerfully reclaimed a word that is often used as a weapon - similarly to how Queer has been reclaimed by the *2SLGTBQIA+ community. You might not feel comfortable using that word yet, and that’s OK too.
This list isn’t exhaustive, but it is pretty comprehensive. I’m going to treat it as a living document that I will update as I discover new things. I’m also going to leave the comments open so if you discover something you think should be on the list you can let me know.
Thanks to all of you from the CIHAS community who shared their favourite books, TV shows and a few miscellaneous recommendations on last week’s thread (read it to see how we decided what to include here). These picks portray fat characters who are joyful, bright, complex, sensitive, fun - basically anything that isn’t an overplayed trope or harmful stereotype. And if you missed why this is important - read this.
I also invited some CIHAS pals to share their faves with us - special thanks to:
Ok before we go in, just a few notes. First of all, there were a few books that were recommended by the community that had really lovely messages but that were more in the vein of body positivity rather than positive fat representation; I haven’t listed these books. Any books that were pretty hard to track down or weren’t in English I’ve removed too. Similarly I haven’t included ‘body books’ (i.e. Bodies Are Cool) and Hello Every Body. I love these books, we’ve covered them before but they didn’t really fit the bill for what we’re doing here. I wanted incidental fat positive representation or representation where weight and body size were handled through the lens of fat acceptance. That said, not everything here is /perfect/, but it’s better than, *gestures wildly*, everything else.
A couple other things: SO MANY of the recommendations are for picture books. I think this is a reflection of the broader CIHAS community being parents of little kids. I’m hoping over time we can pad out the chapter books and YA sections. If you have one for me, please chip in (and add a synopsis/review if you can). The TV shows and movies for little kids are sparse (there are more for older kids but still not enough). And most things are made in North America - this is great but it doesn’t reflect the particular experiences of growing up fat in other contexts and cultures. It’s also just harder to source books from the US if they’re not published where you are (not to mention more £$€).
Another thing: while there is overall great representation of girls and femmes (especially in books), there are hardly any boys or masc presenting folks. Ditto for genderqueer representation. And (ofc) this space is still dominated by white folks. So yeah, some areas that need improvement (publishers take heed!).
That said, it’s exciting to see that fat representation is getting taken seriously - particularly in publishing (YA and pictures books, less so for chapter books/middle grade). I hope this is a sign of good things to come.
Last thing - I have linked to books on Bookshop.org - these are not affiliate links. I never want you to feel like I’m trying to sell you stuff. That said, this is still my job and a lot of labour goes into it. The best thing you can do to support this work is by becoming a paid subscriber. Liking, commenting and forwarding to friends is also a big help - thank you!
We covered this a while back in our list of Food Positive Books - but it’s also got GREAT body representation. Most of all I love that it’s a celebration of the strength of community and coming together. A favourite in our house!
‘This is a sad but uplifting story about how a little girl experiences anti-fatness in her life and the people who are in it. The illustration is beautiful and takes you through the little girl's emotions as she feel sad but then ends up finding her pink again.’
‘Julian is a Mermaid is gorgeous. His Gran, and many of her friends in the book, are all fat, and they celebrate who they are.’ (See also - Julian at the Wedding)
‘A book from my childhood: Don't Cry, Big Bird. It's about how Big Bird is sad because he's too big to play any of the games with the other kids, and so the other kids figure out some games that he can play with them. Appropriate for young ones, age 2-5.’
Note: This doesn’t really count as fat representation per se but I appreciate that it talks about size diversity and inclusion in a way really little kids will understand.
Age 4-8 A beautifully illustrated book about a little witch and her encounters with sprites, gnomes, owls and other woodland creatures (some real, some mythical). It’s broken down into four stories, each covering one of the four seasons. Hazel is a fat little witch, but it’s completely incidental to the stories, which just give you the warm fuzzies. Although it’s listed as 4-8 years, Avery (3) loves this book, so I definitely think a younger bookish kid would be cool with it.
Thank you, Omu by Oge Mora (CIHAS Community Recc - Lynette) Age 4-8yrs
‘Beautiful illustrations and the protagonist Omu is a fat character (among a few others) who is the most lovely human, sharing her delicious stew with everyone in the neighborhood who smells it and walks in asking for some. She then realizes at dinner time that the stew is all gone and then all the neighbors who she shared with come in with their own dishes! It ends with them all eating a meal together.’
Brontorina by James Howe (CIHAS Community Recc - Jen) Age 4-8yrs
‘I loved Brontorina by James Howe (illustrations by Randy Cecil) when my child was younger— there's great modeling of advocating for fat children and problem-solving to make accommodations instead of using the main character's size to exclude her. She is a dinosaur, but a very human feeling dinosaur.’
Bathe the Catby Alice G McGinty (CIHAS Community Recc - Nathalie) Age 3-5yrs
‘Bathe the cat by Alice G McGinty - this is a really cute, hardcover picture book about tidying up before grandma Marge arrives at 2pm. It's lovely because it depicts two black dads and their mixed family. It's all about how the cat does not want to get bathed so the cat rearanges the list of tasks on the fridge. It's nice to see a book with different representation of families without any strong reference to the family being different.’
Dad by my Side by Soosh (CIHAS Community Recc - RW) Age 4-8yrs
‘It’s a very sweet picture book for the youngest kids about a girl and her fat dad, and it’s focused on the things they do together (including cooking, although I think that part is only in the full version, not the board book) and is just full of the love she has for him.’
‘Engleberta Finds Her Feet is a picture book I love. It’s about a fat girl who thinks she can’t dance - they don’t ever say it’s anything to do with her size just that her feet won’t do what they should. Basically it’s just her trying different dance lessons until she realises she could do it all along.’
Note: I couldn’t find a YouTube link to this book and it wasn’t available at the library. I think it’s published in the US so may be difficult to find in other countries.
I felt a bit conflicted about this book and other’s in the CIHAS community agreed. It’s a beautifully illustrated book and is so great to see a Bangla family represented and to see their cultural foods and clothes. AND it felt like I was introducing the concepts of dieting and body shame to my kid when I read it to them. I wonder if this book is better for kids who have already come across these ideas and need some help unpacking them? Perhaps for parents who have been stuck in diet culture who are recognising the harms and looking for resources to help explain why they have changed their mind. I wanted to include it, but I really think it’s worth having a read through first before sharing with your child.
