9 Kids Books That Center & Celebrate Fat Characters

I am fat. How would you talk about my body with your child? Would you just ignore it? Your child won’t. Has your child ever asked you why someone is “so big” or something along those lines? Did you avoid the question? Stumble through it, perhaps? More than anyone else, you shape your child’s feelings about not just other people’s bodies but their own bodies as well. That means you should be ready to have conversations with your children about accepting and celebrating their bodies and other people’s bodies.

Part of the fat acceptance movement is celebrating fatness and embracing that word as a descriptor for our bodies and not as an insult. It might be hard for you, regardless of your size, to use this word with your children but you can start working on it, which will give them a healthier and more realistic understanding of the world around them and develop their own self-confidence. Children of all ages should be engaging regularly in these conversations and you, as an active adult in their life, can help make them productive and positive. A great way to begin these conversations is through books. Here’s a set of recommendations for all ages to start the conversation about accepting, and celebrating, all bodies.

Picture Books

The Truth About Grandparents by Elina Ellis

Not just a fun rift subverting all traditional expectations of how grandparents behave, this is a book that shows a very fat grandmother living life to the fullest. She is seen dancing, doing yoga, and having all kinds of adventures. This encourages children to see fat bodies as capable and normal as well as loving and positive.

Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki

A lively book about a community kitchen coming together to make and share a meal, this story practically dances off the page. This title is the perfect example of reflecting the true diversity of community, with many fat and disabled bodies pictured in several spreads, engaged in all sorts of action and care. This gives children a chance to see the world as it truly is.

Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder

Celebrating every kind of body in clear, straightforward descriptions of the physicality of bodies, this is a book made to pore over and have conversations about. Spotlighted are not just all types of fat bodies, with all kinds of pleasant lumps and rolls, but all types of body diversity.

Middle Grade Books

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Told in verse, this novel follows middle-schooler Ellie as she goes to therapy, develops her voice, makes new friends and learns how to break the “fat girl rules” that have controlled her life. This book definitely benefits from being coread with an adult for more in-depth conversations because Ellie suffers a lot and one of her chief tormentors is her own mother. This is an ultimately triumphant tale about taking up space without apology.

Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older

The first book in a rip-roaring historical fantasy trilogy taking place in an alternate timeline where dinosaurs and humans co-exist, Dactyl Hill Squad picks up with a group of orphans in 1863 as the Civil War rages. One of the main characters is a fat boy named Two Step. He loves to dance, is brave and smart, and has a big heart. Being fat is incidental to Two Step’s characterization but it is clearly stated and described, which makes this series both a rarity and a delight.

Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy

Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco has a lot going on in her life, from her parent’s divorce to middle school changing her friendships. She secretly takes over as the local advice columnist and finds out adults might not have all the answers and she’ll have to figure some things out on her own. As is typical with most of Murphy’s work, for Sweet Pea, being fat is part of her identity in a seamless, always present fact that informs but doesn’t define or limit the rest of who she is.

Young Adult Books

Love Is a Revolution by Renée Watson

Nala crushes on Tye from the first minute she sees him. The only problem is that Tye is super involved with activism and that’s not quite Nala’s style. What can a few little lies about what she’s interested in hurt, right? This book is a celebration of fat girls being seen, cherished, and loved and accepting and empowering themselves. This is another title that would really benefit as an adult coread because of the wealth of issues to dig into. As with all of Watson’s work, this asks teens to consider what all different types of love look like.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

Charlie Vega is funny, smart, and used to always being the sidekick to her popular, skinny best friend, Amelia. Sometimes Charlie even feels like maybe her mother, who is constantly pressuring her about being fat, likes Amelia better. But Charlie is ready for her chance to shine and to find someone who sees her for all of who she is. This is a book that centers friendship and family relationships as well as romance and gives Charlie a chance to ask for more and better from her support networks, a much needed addition to stories about fat teenagers.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

This is a fun, engaging romp that literally has it all: dystopia meets alien invasion meets literally star-crossed lovers meets teens overthrowing regimes using the feel-good vibes of pop music and the power of books. Take all that and add Ellie, a dreamer, a rebel, and a fat Black heroine and there’s much to love in this book. It is always refreshing to see more fat leads in fantasy, sci-fi, and other genres besides realistic fiction, reminding readers that fat people are everywhere and can do anything.

Time to open it up and say the word “fat” in a positive way with a kid in your life. See where the conversation takes you next, and don’t be ashamed anymore.

There are still plenty of gaps in the market of books for young people when it comes to accurately portraying the fullness of fat life. We need more stories of different sized fat people, including superfat people, and certainly more stories with fat male and gender diverse leads. But the good news is that one of the ways we expand the market for these stories is by buying and sharing them. By reading and discussing these books — and others about fat characters — with kids and teens you can start not just a conversation with the readers but with publishing, too. Time to open it up and say the word “fat” in a positive way with a kid in your life. See where the conversation takes you next, and don’t be ashamed anymore.

We only include products that have been independently selected by Romper's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.