There's Only One You

July 26, 2019

PreS-Gr 1-In this ode to individuality, this feel-good picture book celebrates children with different abilities, learning styles, physical features, skin color, personal interests and strengths, and family configurations. A familiar refrain reassures young readers-whoever you are, you are "being unique." Butcher's digitally rendered pastel and watercolor illustrations are vivid and exciting; each page turn is packed with lively detail and wonder. The artwork pairs beautifully with the reassuring, necessary message of this narrative. VERDICT This is a welcome title for school and library collections on self-acceptance, individualism, and tolerance that is sure to spark conversation. Pair with Todd Parr's Be Who You Are for units and storytime sessions on these topics.-Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2019
A picture-book celebration of individuality and diversity.Heling and Hembrook's text opens with the lines, "In all the world over, / this much is true: / You're somebody special. / There's only one you." The art depicts a white-appearing child with red pigtails, first on the floor, drawing, beside a big dog, then getting dressed as the dog sits on the bed and a woman, also white, peeks in. The next scene depicted in the digital, cartoon-style art shows the child hugging the woman and about to get on a school bus with a gaggle of diverse children with varying skin tones, hair textures and colors, and visible disabilities (one child wears a hearing aid, another wears glasses, a third uses a forearm crutch, and a fourth uses a wheelchair). As the rhyming text continues, it celebrates the diversity of these children not just in terms of their identities, but by commenting on their personalities, their talents, and ultimately their families. At book's end, the first child is revealed to have two moms when they both pick her up at the end of the school day, the family dog in tow. "Families are families, / but soon you will find / that each can be different-- / a 'best for them' kind," reads the accompanying, inclusive text.Affirming and welcome. (Picture book. 3-5)

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