Action Jasmine - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

2 minutes ago
3 min read

This is a wonderful picture book celebrating the power of imagination and loving support to provide an outlet and encouragement for quiet and shy readers to safely express their own, individual boldness and the be open to the possibility of friendships.

Book cover - a girl in a hoodie and sweatpants, jumps with her fist in the air holding a pencil.

Action Jasmine

Author: Kristen Mai Giang

Illustrator: A.N. Kang

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Young Readers (March 10, 2026)

Ages: 4 -8

Fiction

Themes:

Shyness, bravery, intergenerational, and friendship.

Synopsis:

A shy girl spends a special day with her grandfather discovering the action superhero inside her in a vivid celebration of imagination and play.

Jasmine prefers to blend in with the background. She peeks while others play and hides behind her big glasses. But when her grandpa reads stories to her at night, she dreams of adventure, and a new character—Action Jasmine—comes alive in her art. Action Jasmine isn't scared, Action Jasmine is brave and saves the day. When her grandpa challenges her to join him on in adventure in the park, Jasmine is petrified (code for "super scared") that is until she remembers they can go incognito (code for "so sneaky, no one even knows who you are"). But when Jasmine spies a boy playing by himself, can she find the courage to break out of her shell, start some action, and make a new friend?

Opening Lines:

Jasmine pushes her big glasses up her little nose

and spies on the world.

At parties, she clings to corners.

At parks, she peeks as others play.

At dinners, she disappears behind steamy glasses.

People barely notice her, and she likes that.

What I LOVED about this book:

This is such a great way to introduce an introverted, curious girl using fun illustrative humor and lovely, playful language.

Internal spreads Left spread has a girl in big glasses peering over a hedge from behind a wroght-iron fence and three birds perch on the fence. In right spread - on the upper left, a girl with a finger on the llips, hides in a corner at a party, as a dog looks at her. Bottom left, a girl hides behind bushes as three kids enjoy blowing bubbles. On the right, at table ladden with food, a girl peers over the edge of the table.

Text © Kristen Mai Giang, 2026. Image © A. N. Kang, 2026.

In the evenings, snuggled on pillows in a blanket fort, Jasmine's grandpa reads her thrilling stories of adventures, and she dreams of "fighting dragons, solving mysteries, and exploring new lands." I love how A. N. Kang's pastel-colored images meld the realistic images of Jasmine with "child-drawn" images of her facing down and conquering a dragon. It's wonderfully colorful and imaginative, drawing the reader directly into Jasmine's internal world of adventure.

Creating a secret identity ("Action Jasmine") Jasmine confidently performs heroic deeds around the house. But when Grandpa suggests they hunt for adventures in the park, she balks - what if others laugh? So, she dons a green hooded jumpsuit with a big "J" on the front and goes "Incognito! (That's code for "so sneaky, no one even knows who you are.")" Building on the super spy/action hero trope, Kristen Mai Giang uses the fun refrain "That's code for...." to define the three large words/concepts in the book.

I love that Grandpa plays along, dressing in a trenchcoat and tall hat. It's such a great moment with the two of them sneaking about the park, as spies. When she's about to lose her nerve, he lovingly reminds Jasmine of her secret identity and to "be brave." In a mirror to Action Jasmine's heroic deeds at home, she saves the day at the park and makes an important discovery. Directly wrapping back to the beginning with the both the text and the illustration, the book explores the wonderful relationship between Jasmine and Grandpa and the magic of friendship. It is a spectacular book full of heart, imagination, and the reassurance and validation of feelings and shyness.

Resources:

make up your own secret identity. What would your name be? Would you have a secret power? Draw your own incognito outfit and what your alter ego would look like.

make a superhero paper bag(s) and tell your own stories.

visit your own park, with a friend, parent, nanny, or grandparent, and peek and sneak and look for adventures like Jasmine.

If you missed my interview with Kristen Mai Giang and A.N. Kang on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.