‘Being different is special.’ A charming picture book about acceptance of differences like ADHD. When the ‘delightfully different, bright yellow and rather scruffy’ Dandylion goes to school chaos and fun follow. But after one messy incident too many he’s told to go home – he just doesn’t fit in. Find out what happens when the children start to miss his unique personality.
El Deafo is a funny and moving graphic novel memoir about a young hearing impaired girl and her adventures at school as she tries to fit in while standing out.
August is a little boy who looks different from anyone else. Really different. He has one eye and other strange, misshapen features that make children stare at him. But inside he is just a little boy who loves his dog Dasiy, likes to play ball, eat ice cream and ride his bike. Since he knows he can’t change the way he looks, he wonders what it would be like if people could change the way they see him.
Chocolate Me! is a picture book about differences and how they can be celebrated if seen in the right light. Chocolate Me is a little boy who wonders about all the ways he is different from his white friends, Timmy, Johnny and Mark who, with their ‘normal’ names, straight hair, and fair complexions make Chocolate Me feel like he is all kinds of wrong. A perfect springboard for diversity discussions.
The series offers a very clever way of getting children to discuss emotions and personality types and how we need all types in the world. In each story the character is given a challenge – Little Miss Sunshine comes across Miseryland – she is reprimanded for breaking all the rules and when she asks why people aren’t allowed to smile and laugh she’s told because that’s the rule!
What happens when the new boy in your class is so different, you can’t help but stare when he walks by. And shudder? We’ve all had moments when we’ve hissed at our children not to stare at someone different from them, whether it was a beggar or disabled person. Now we hear the story form the other side, from the boy being stared at. This is one of those books every child should read to get a better idea of the human-ness behind other-ness.
Marshall Armstrong is new to our school. He looks different to me. His laces are straight, not criss-crossed like mine, And his eyes are always looking at the blackboard. Marshall Armstrong doesn’t fit into our school. Not one bit…’
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