Review - A Little Bit Different

A Little Bit Different
by Claire Alexander
Date: 2019
Publisher: words & pictures
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A light and fun story depicting the journey from ignorance to acceptance and celebration. A Little Bit Different by Clare Alexander is a beautiful story exploring acceptance and joy in being different.

Meet the ploofers. The ploofers have been practicing something special which they all want to do at the exact same time—but wait! What’s that? One of them does something different! When one little ploofer goes against the usual flow of things, the rest of them turn their backs on him. But all it takes is for one person to recognize the beauty in being different to spark a change in attitude of everyone.

With simple and striking illustrations, A Little bit Different is a joyful reading experience for both you and your child, with the opportunity to spark more meaningful discussions about people's differences and how we accept and value them.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

The message of this story is a good one, although I found the execution a bit too simple for my taste.

There are these little creatures called Ploofers who shoot grey smoke out of the tops of their heads. But one of them does something a little more colourful, and the rest of the Ploofers don't know what to make of it. In fact, they don't like it at all, because it's different. So the poor little Ploofer who's a bit different starts to feel bad... until someone else comes along and really likes that new creation.

Everything about this book is simple. The text is simple. The illustrations are simple. It works, but I kind of prefer a little more in the picture books I read.

I have to say, though, that the illustration on the copyright page is probably my favourite. It made me laugh out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley and words & pictures for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Review - Humperdink Our Elephant Friend

Humperdink Our Elephant Friend
by Sean Taylor
illustrated by Claire Alexander
Date: 2019
Publisher: words & pictures
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

When Humperdink the baby elephant joins the children’s playgroup, he seems friendly enough, but it soon becomes clear that he’s not very good at the usual games the children play, like dressing up or hide-and-seek. When he breaks the children’s favorite slide, everyone feels sad. But with a little patience and understanding the children soon discover that Humperdink is good at some things–especially if they use their imaginations–leading to a riotously fun conclusion. A delightful picture book with endearing artwork and a humorous story to engage young readers and help them gain an understanding about those different from themselves. This title helps children learn the key skill of playing with and accepting new friends, whatever their size, shape... or species! Exploring themes of empathy and imaginative play, this title is a must-have for young readers seeking to understand the world around them.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is sort of a middle-of-the-road picture book for me. It's cute, but the story is a little too simple for my taste and there are a few technical issues with the writing.

I do kind of like the illustrations. They almost give the book a vintage sort of feel. But the diverse array of children depicted kind of give away the fact that this isn't a book from the 1960s. Humperdink the baby elephant is pretty cute himself, although one does need to suspend a bit of disbelief to imagine that a giant pachyderm was allowed into a playgroup with toddlers.

The story is fairly basic. When the elephant joins the playgroup, the kids try to teach him their favourite activities. But he can't fit into the dress-up clothes, he's terrible at hiding, and--oh, no!--he breaks the kids' favourite slide. With nothing to do, the kids ask Humperdink to show them what he enjoys... and he ends up taking them on an elephant-walk into the "jungle" outside. (I wasn't sure about this part at first. After reading it again, it seems to be an imaginary jungle, but since having an elephant in the playgroup is already pretty fantastical, I thought at first that the jungle might be real.)

This book could've used one more pass of an editor's red pen. I don't know why (maybe because someone thought it looked smarter), but words like "everyone" and "anymore" are separated into two words. Unfortunately, this changes the meaning and makes the sentences clunky and confusing. So I had to take off some points there. (This wouldn't be an issue if one was reading aloud to kids, though, so keep that in mind.)

Overall, I wasn't blown away by Humperdink Our Elephant Friend, but it's entertaining enough and will probably appeal to small children. Adults, however, will probably leave with at least one unanswered question: Did the grownups in charge ever fix the kids' slide?

Thank you to NetGalley and words & pictures for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5