WINNER!!!  

Believe You Are Beautiful is the proud 1st place winner in the children's category for both the Idaho Top Author and the North American Book Awards - 2014!
Believe You Are Beautiful is a delightful book filled with life lessons for adults and children.  

The book's primary message - Beauty is on the inside, therefore, you are beautiful - is the foundation for a child being less likely to harm self or others.  Less bullies, less victims, and less self-harm equals more love!

Themes in the book include bullying, following dreams, believing in yourself, growing in confidence through life's changes, valuing who you are on the inside, and knowing your self-worth despite outside circumstances. 

What you have inside you is something beautiful, wonderful, and worthy of celebrating!


5-Star Review from Readers' Favorite!

Believe You Are Beautiful by Sandy Spurgeon McDaniel is a beautifully illustrated story of a caterpillar who is bullied by an ant, and who is looking for an answer to questions that are on everybody's mind at some stage in life. The little caterpillar meets the wise owl who is trying to make the caterpillar see one important truth of life: It is the inside that counts. If you are beautiful on the inside, you are also beautiful on the outside. With that lesson in mind, the little caterpillar turns into a cocoon and then awakens as a beautiful butterfly.
I enjoyed the pages of Believe You Are Beautiful by Sandy Spurgeon McDaniel as the illustrations and words were chosen very well. I think this would be an ideal picture book for first readers or could be used to tell the story to a child that cannot yet read. It gives an important lesson in life, and I think many children these days could use this lesson. The book would also be a great conversation starter, so parents or other adults could talk to children about the topic of how you look, and what is really important. A book like this is definitely a better choice for a child than something that makes children believe they have to look a certain way to be loved and popular. Unfortunately, the media these days is so focused on a certain type of look. It is important for parents to make their children understand that being a caterpillar is not a problem, because one day you will turn into a butterfly.
Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

About the Author:  Sandy Spurgeon McDaniel

Believe You Are Beautiful is the first children's book by Sandy Spurgeon McDaniel.  Sandy has 52 years of experience working with children and families, and derives her insight from the many roles she has served: school teacher, successful parenting columnist, researcher, author of 5 books, creator of ParentingSOS.com, and internationally recognized lecturer on parenting and self-esteem.  She is best known for her warmth, spontaneous humor and her laser-like ability to solve every day personal and parenting problems.  Sandy is a parent to two children and a grandmother of four grandchicks.  She lives in Idaho.

About the Illustrator:  Stephanie Mullani

Stephanie has been  illustrating and teaching art to children for over 20 years, while also studying and maintaining a passion for nutrition.  Her artwork is currently on products in more than 19 countries and her natural health website, NaturalGirlDiary.com has been endorsed by PBS Parents.    Besides her passions for art and health, she and her husband enjoy helping others make their creative dreams real through their company, Tru Publishing.