Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee
Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
| Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A lively look at what it's like to be different and how we're all much the same inside. It's important for adults and children. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 25 | Date: August 2022 |
| Publisher: ShieldCrest Publishing | |
| ISBN: 978-1913839659 | |
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And Todd does look different. Striking was the world that sprung to my mind. He has yellow feathers on his head, except for the black band around his eyes, which can make him look a little menacing. The upper part of his body is black fur and this contrasts beautifully with his tiger paws. Grandma and mum are birds but dad is a bear: no one knows where the tiger paws came from! It's what you're like on the inside that matters, though - not what people can see on the outside. Some people are frightened by seeing the unexpected, but it's Todd who's nervous about going to the Friday Night Club.
Author Lainey Dee has a talent for observing the small signs of rejection: the back slightly turned away as Todd sits down. It's not enough to be rude but sufficient to discourage conversation. Some birds are not so subtle and there's a little bit of direct challenge which brings Todd close to tears. Fortunately, there's Peggy the Penguin who points out to Todd that she's another oddity - a bird who can't fly but can waddle. Before long, Todd realises that all the birds are different and the conversation moves from differences, to what they all have in common.
OK, you're going to have to suspend disbelief about mum being a bird and dad being a bear because it does make the point very neatly. Like Todd's button collection, we're all different and we should celebrate our differences, rather than allow them to separate us.
The illustrations, by Dhiraj Navlakhi, are striking and really bring Todd to life. I have, though, a couple of quibbles. The clock appears in three different illustrations at two separate locations but the clock and the time are exactly the same in each. The other is a little more serious as the illustration contradicts the text. Grandmother says Look Todd, every button is different and yet you love them all - but we see five red buttons, two purple and three green. It would have been so simple to make them all different.
I do applaud the sentiment behind the book: it's an important read, not just for people who feel that they are different but for those who only see the differences in other people. I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For another story about someone who is different, try Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee at Amazon.com.
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