Best-selling children's book author and artist Todd Parr.
Internationally successful children’s book author Todd Parr is known for positive, inclusive messages he sends to young readers in “The I’M NOT SCARED Book” and “It’s Okay to Make Mistakes.”
“[‘Love the World’ is] a book to reassure the reader about themselves, and to welcome others, and to be nice, and you can always find something to like about every place you go, and everyone. And I think it really applies now, that kids really need to hear that,” Parr said.
His worldwide following has allowed him to travel and share his books with young readers around the world.
“I have felt embraced in all my travels, from Singapore to Brazil and China. A lot of my messages really are universal.”
Illustrations from two of Todd Parr's books.
Known for his positive and inclusive themes and his colorful, simple art, Parr says attitudes about his books have changed since his career began in 2001.
“Well, they’d say before: ‘My child doesn’t have social, emotional issues. My child doesn’t need these books because they’re already who they are.’ And now more and more people are saying, ‘How do you talk to kids about things that are going on in the world’?”
Now, titles like “The I’M NOT SCARED Book,” “It’s Okay to Make Mistakes” and “Love the World” are helping to promote confidence and cooperation for a generation of kids.
Parr also closes each of his books in a unique and personal way.
“Well, they’d say before: ‘My child doesn’t have social, emotional issues. My child doesn’t need these books because they’re already who they are.’ And now more and more people are saying, ‘How do you talk to kids about things that are going on in the world’?”
"It started in my book ‘This is My Hair.’ I thought, ‘This is really how I'm ending these books when I read them to kids. So why not send them off with some positive reinforcement at the end?’ Each book is signed, 'Love, Todd.’"
Parr visits Tucson this weekend as a guest of the Pima County Public Library. He will lead a free Rainbow Storytime for all ages at the Himmel Park amphitheater on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.
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