Tween sports journo Pepper Persley won't let bullies win.

“The most meaningful piece of advice…never change who I am because of what others say…know that there are people who will support me for being me.”

Isn’t that a message we want all our kids to grow up with?

If it needs a little reinforcement — which is sometimes more powerful coming from another kid instead of their parents — I have the book for them. It’s called Not Too Anything (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org), written by professional sports journalist Pepper Persley.

Pepper also happens to be 12 years old. No pressure on your kids or anything.

Now I may be a little biased because I’ve known Pepper since she was a toddler coming to Cool Mom Picks events, and I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Pepper and her dad Christopher on Spawned. But her personal story is so impressive and I love that she’s turned her successes and struggles into a book to help others. Which is so very Pepper. (Can nothing stop this kid?)

In Not Too Anything, Pepper describes her journey from a sports-loving girl to an actual pro sportscaster and journalist who’s called professional ballgames, interviewed all kinds of celebrities and sports figures, covered the MLB Little League for ESPN, and been the focus of profiles from CBS This Morning, Sports Illustrated, and more.

Along the way, Pepper reveals her struggles with issues that will be familiar to your kids — feeling different than her classmates (she was the only Black kid in her second-grade class), trying to make friends, being nervous trying new things, being doubted by adults, and above all, dealing with some pretty cruel behavior from kids she thought were her friends.

She describes overcoming the doubters and the bullying as a factor of continuing hard work, great parenting, and advice from wonderful mentors who believe in you — in Pepper’s case, that includes Washington Mystics broadcaster, Meghan McPeak. (But surely your kids will find their own mentors in teachers, coaches, counselors and grandparents.)

Pepper’s lesson that inspires the book title: You can’t be demeaned as “too anything” — too athletic, too confident, too ambitious, too individualistic — when you’re just living authentically as your true self.

It takes most of us a few more decades to learn that!

Accompanied by charming, colorful illustrations by Jessica Jones, I will say this autobiographical picture book reads more like a SI for Kids profile than a classic children’s book; though young readers may find the linear story more compelling than a typical “message” book.

I’d love to see a follow-up book from Pepper based on the Not 2 Athletic anti-bullying video she’s made, in which she interviews professional women in sports about their own journeys to overcome negativity. Because as remarkable as Pepper’s successes are, it’s the struggles that make successes worth reading about.

I don’t think our kids can have too many reminders that they are entitled to their dreams and their passions — even if they don’t always align with others’ expectations.

Let alone the reminder that the people they admire TV and YouTube and TikTok may make success look easy — but it never is.