THIS IS MY BRAIN!

An affirmation that brains have plenty of important jobs and, often, different ways of doing them.

Rightly noting that all brains “look pretty much the same,” Gravel keeps things simple, both conceptually and in her cartoon images of a pink lump resembling a “squishy [wad] of chewing gum” and kitted out with googly eyes. Brains, her cerebral narrator proclaims, have many “superpowers,” from thinking and feeling to collecting information and telling us what to do. While the brains of neurodiverse and neurotypical people may physically look similar, Gravel notes that we may learn at different speeds or in different ways; some may need help from a friend. Some of us may act or feel differently (“all our feelings are valid,” Gravel stresses), and sometimes those differences can be confusing to us or others. Still, if all brains were the same, the world would be “very boring.” Therefore, the author/illustrator concludes, we can keep our brains happy and healthy by taking proper care of our bodies and talking about our feelings. The potato-shaped bodies in the illustrations come in a variety of sizes and colors; some wear eyeglasses or sunglasses of different styles, and one figure uses a wheelchair.

A simple, wholesome message, focused more on reassurance than categorization.