BIG

by Vashti Harrison

A young girl grows up hearing words that make her feel small, but learns to reclaim her sense of self and recognize that she is exactly enough — a Caldecott Medal and National Book Award winning story.

Big Idea

You are enough exactly as you are — your size, your feelings, and your voice all matter.

Discussion Questions

1.How does the main character feel about herself at different points in the story?
2.What does it mean to feel BIG?
3.How can words affect how someone feels about themselves?

Classroom Activity

BIG Feelings Self-Portrait

Students create a self-portrait with a word that describes how they feel BIG in the world.

Lesson Plan

⏱ 45 minutes📦 Drawing paper, mirrors, markers, colored pencils

Learning Goals

Understand self-worth and body positivity
Explore the impact of words on feelings
Practice self-expression through art

Activity Steps

1.Read the story and discuss how the main character grows
2.Each student identifies a word that makes them feel big and powerful
3.Create a self-portrait incorporating that word
4.Share in a gallery walk

Standards Connections

ELA: RL.K.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details
ELA: RL.K.2 — Retell stories, including key details
ELA: RL.K.3 — Describe characters, setting, and events
ELA: RL.3.6 — Acknowledge differences in characters' points of view
ELA: SL.K.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations about the text
ELA: W.K.3 — Write narratives recounting events with descriptive details
SEL: Self-Awareness
SEL: Social Awareness
Art: VA:Re7 — Perceive and analyze artistic work

Pace-Write-Read Study with Pace-Write It!

Focus question: How does an author slow down and speed up a story to help readers feel a character’s emotions and growth? In BIG by Vashti Harrison, a young girl hears hurtful words that make her feel smaller and smaller until she learns to see her own worth. Harrison uses pacing through brief powerful lines, page turns, repetition, and changing illustrations to let readers pause with the girl’s pain and then move with strength toward her self-acceptance.

Element	How to notice or teach it in the novel
Pace	Read: Notice how BIG moves slowly during the painful moments when the girl hears words about her body, then begins to feel stronger and more forward-moving as she reclaims her identity. Classroom Activity: Write 3 short sentences about a time a character feels hurt, then 3 sentences that speed up as the character becomes confident.
Plot	Read: Notice the clear arc in BIG: the girl is labeled by others, begins to carry those labels, struggles under their weight, and then claims her own sense of self-worth. Classroom Activity: Draw and label a 4-box plot map showing hurtful words, growing burden, turning point, and self-acceptance.
Prosody	Read: Listen to how BIG sounds when read aloud; the language has a heavy, thoughtful feeling in the sad parts and a stronger lift in the ending. Classroom Activity: Read one page aloud twice—once softly and once boldly—then write one line you would want read in a strong voice.
Word pause	Read: Notice how single words and short phrases in BIG create pauses that make the reader stop and feel the girl’s emotions. Classroom Activity: Write a 4-line piece about feelings using one line that is only one word long for emphasis.
Concept	Read: The big idea in BIG is that a person’s worth does not shrink or grow based on what others say about their body or identity. Classroom Activity: Complete this sentence and expand it into 2-3 lines: 'I am enough because _____.'
Voice & World View	Read: Vashti Harrison presents a world where children can be deeply affected by other people’s words, but also capable of building a stronger view of themselves. Classroom Activity: Write 3 sentences in a caring author voice that tells a child character they are worthy just as they are.
Setting & Place	Read: Notice that BIG is not driven by a detailed faraway setting; instead, the emotional setting is created through everyday spaces where the girl hears comments and feels watched. Classroom Activity: Write about a familiar place like school, home, or the playground where a character has a strong feeling, and show how the place affects that feeling.
Point of View	Read: Even though BIG is told from an outside view, readers stay very close to the girl’s feelings and changing sense of self. Classroom Activity: Rewrite one moment from the girl’s point of view starting with 'I heard...' or 'I felt...'.
Original Characters	Read: The girl in BIG is memorable because she is shown with emotional depth, and the people around her matter mainly through the impact of their words. Classroom Activity: Create a character who feels misunderstood, then list 3 outside words people say and 3 true words the character says about themself.
Dialogue	Read: Notice how spoken words in BIG carry power; even brief comments shape how the girl sees herself. Classroom Activity: Write two lines of dialogue that hurt a character’s feelings and one final line of dialogue the character says back to reclaim their voice.
Details	Read: BIG uses carefully chosen details instead of many extra events, so each emotional moment feels important. Classroom Activity: Write 3 small details that show a character feeling heavy inside without saying 'sad.'
Descriptions	Read: Notice how the descriptions in BIG help readers understand emotional weight as well as physical presence. Classroom Activity: Describe a feeling as if it were something a character could carry, wear, or push away.
Strong First Lines	Read: Pay attention to how the beginning of BIG quickly introduces the girl and the problem of how others see and name her. Classroom Activity: Write an opening line for a story that immediately shows a character being judged or misunderstood.
Immediacy & Engagement	Read: BIG draws readers in right away because the emotions are clear and the problem feels urgent and personal. Classroom Activity: Write 2 opening sentences that make readers care about a character’s feelings right away.
Story Scenes & Summaries & Unique Structures	Read: Notice how BIG balances scene-like emotional moments with broader movement through the girl’s growing-up experience, creating a structure that feels both lyrical and narrative. Classroom Activity: Write one sentence showing a full scene and one sentence summarizing many days of the same feeling.
Flashback & Flash Forward & Cliffhangers	Read: BIG mostly moves forward, but readers feel time passing as the girl grows and carries the words with her. Classroom Activity: Write a present-moment sentence about a character, then add a sentence that begins 'Before this...' to show what happened earlier.
Tension & Suspense & Surprise	Read: The tension in BIG comes from wondering how long the girl will believe the hurtful labels and when she will recognize her own value. Classroom Activity: Write 3 sentences that build tension around a character deciding whether to believe others or believe themself.
Page Turns and Chapter Breaks	Read: In this picture book, page turns matter because each turn can deepen the girl’s hurt or move her toward strength. Classroom Activity: Plan a 4-page mini-book and decide what important feeling should be revealed only after a page turn.
Performance	Read: BIG invites expressive reading, with pauses, softer lines, and stronger final lines that match the girl’s emotional journey. Classroom Activity: Mark a short passage with symbols for pause, whisper, and strong voice, then perform it.
Personality	Read: The girl’s personality becomes clearer as she moves from carrying others’ opinions to standing in her own truth. Classroom Activity: Write 4 sentences showing a character’s personality changing from unsure to confident.
Humor	Read: BIG is not built around humor; its serious tone helps readers sit with the pain of body shaming and the importance of self-worth. Classroom Activity: Write one sentence explaining why a serious tone is the best choice for this story’s theme.
Pause	Read: Notice how BIG makes space for emotional pauses, giving readers time to think about each word said to the girl and each feeling she carries. Classroom Activity: Write a short paragraph and include an intentional pause with a line break or dash before the most important idea.
Poetry and Poetic Devices	Read: BIG has a poetic style, using compressed language, emotional imagery, and repetition to deepen meaning. Classroom Activity: Write a 5-line poem about self-worth that repeats one important phrase two times.
Repetition	Read: Repetition in BIG helps readers feel how hurtful labels echo in the girl’s mind and how new self-belief can also be repeated into strength. Classroom Activity: Choose one phrase such as 'I am enough' and repeat it in 3 different lines for emphasis.
Rhythm	Read: The rhythm of BIG changes with the girl’s emotions; some parts feel heavy and measured, while the ending feels more open and steady. Classroom Activity: Write one slow line with many pauses and one strong flowing line to show a character changing.
Punctuation	Read: Notice how punctuation in BIG helps shape pauses, emphasis, and emotional force in a small amount of text. Classroom Activity: Take one simple sentence and rewrite it 3 ways using a period, dash, or exclamation point to change the feeling.
Questions	Read: BIG may leave readers asking who gets to define us and how we can protect our sense of self when others speak carelessly. Classroom Activity: Write 2 questions the girl might ask herself early in the story and 1 question she can answer confidently at the end.
Compare-Contrast	Read: Compare the girl at the beginning of BIG, weighed down by others’ words, with the girl at the end, standing in her own worth. Classroom Activity: Make a T-chart labeled 'Others’ words' and 'My true self,' then write 3 phrases in each column.
Objects	Read: In BIG, words almost feel like objects the girl has to carry, making the emotional burden visible. Classroom Activity: Invent an object that represents a feeling, such as a heavy coat of insults or a bright shield of self-love, and describe it in 3 sentences.
Threes	Read: You can notice patterns of three in teaching this book by grouping repeated comments, emotions, or stages of change: hurt, weight, healing. Classroom Activity: Write a set of 3 lines showing a character move from pain to hope to confidence.
Whitespace & Negative Space	Read: The spare text and visual space in BIG help readers pause and focus on the girl’s feelings, making each line feel important. Classroom Activity: Create a one-page piece with only 3 lines of text and leave lots of blank space to make the feeling stand out.
Art & Graphics	Read: Vashti Harrison’s illustrations are essential in BIG; they show the girl’s emotional burden and growth in ways the words alone do not. Classroom Activity: Draw the same character two times—once feeling crushed by others’ words and once standing tall in self-worth—then write one sentence for each drawing.
Interactives & Gamification	Read: BIG encourages active response because readers can sort which words harm and which words heal. Classroom Activity: Make two word cards piles labeled 'Words that shrink' and 'Words that strengthen,' then write a sentence using one strengthening phrase for the girl in BIG.

Pace-Write It!

20-Minute Classroom Flow\nRead (5 min): Read BIG by Vashti Harrison aloud. Pause at key page turns so students can notice how the short text and illustrations slow the story down during painful moments and lift it during the ending.\nNotice (5 min): Ask: 'Where did the story make you stop and feel something?' and 'How did the pacing change when the girl began to know her worth?' Chart student noticings about repetition, short lines, page turns, and illustration changes.\nWrite (7 min): Students write a short piece about a character learning to value themself. Writing frame: 'People said ____. Their words felt like ____. For a while, I/they felt ____. Then I/they remembered ____. Now I/they know ____.' Encourage students to use one repeated phrase and one very short line for emphasis.\nShare (3 min): Partners read their writing aloud, using pauses and strong voice to match the character’s feelings. Invite 1-2 volunteers to share how they used pacing.\nExit ticket: Write one sentence answering: 'How did Vashti Harrison use short lines, repetition, or page turns in BIG to help readers feel the girl’s journey?'