This is Book #3 in a series of Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter. I have the hard cover edition that is a Little Golden Book . I purchased Just A Little Different a few years ago at my local Toys “R” Us store. The book section is next to the videos and worth picking out some books each time you shop this chain.
I have checked the web-site of amazon.com/toysrus, finding the paperback edition of Just A Little Different selling for $3.59. The hard cover one is selling for $1.83. I noticed the paperback suggests this for the reading level of baby-preschool, while the hard cover edition is for ages of 4-8. My only guess is that smaller kids read paper books and older ones like hard cover.
Just A Little Different is twenty four pages with the first edition done in April of 1998. Little Critter is a registered trademark of Orchard House Licensing Company. All Little Golden Books have on the opposite side of the front cover a spot to print the name to the recipient of the book. My son likes to see his name already printed here.
The title appealed to me as the parent to two special needs children. I saw the cover and placed the book in my cart at the store when purchasing videos. We have a collection of a Little Golden Book stories, as well as numerous books by Gina and Mercer Mayer.
The book is written from the Little Critter’s perspective beginning with the arrival of the new neighbor Zack and his family. Zack has rabbit ears like his Mother with a turtle shell like his Father.
The two families greet one another by shaking hands on the front lawn. The girl critters have bows in their hair and the Mothers always have an apron on. Later in the day the critters have baseball practice when the subject about asking Zack to join gets shot down. The little critter speaks to his parents about how his friends made him mad by rejecting Zack. His Mother explains the good in being different.
This family discussion takes place in the living room with the dog sleeping on the floor and the mouse and cat at the top of the couch. The Father has a magazine in his lap with the Mother laying a book on her lap. The expressions on their faces are very thorough showing the father thinking with his arm on his knee.
The litter critter starts the next day off by stopping by at Zack’s house and inviting him to play at his home. In the entryway is a ladder with wallpaper ready to be hung. Next the critters are playing monster games with the little mouse there too. The Mother and sister are passing by the bedroom sneaking a peak at the boys.
Then they were back at Zack’s house using his computer to make pictures for their Mothers. These two critters had so much fun because they shared the same interests, rode bikes and watched videos. The other critters still thought Zack was too different to play with them.
The two critters started building a clubhouse with the help of Zack’s Father. They were hammering the wood pieces together and making progress. Later the other critters passed by wondering what this was they were making. It turns out the other critters thought this was so cool they wanted to join this club. They all contributed to the building of the clubhouse making Zack the club leader. This made sense since the clubhouse was in his yard.
So next the other critters ask Zack to be a member of the baseball team with Zack on first base. All the critters are now happy to have Zack part of their gang and have a party with a cake for Zack. The two critters are still the best of friends and no one really cares how different Zack is.
Just A Little Different shows how even kids at first make judgements based on looks and similarities. This helps in showing how to reach out to others that may be different in appearance and the positive results once you get to know someone. The message is clear that persistence pays off and the family comes together to discuss how the critter feels in the beginning.
The book shares the point that one person/critter can make a difference in how they perceive others. Once all the critters stopped looking at Zack and saw him for the fun person he was they got past the first impressions.
There are many lessons in this short book that is easy to read and follow along with great pictures of the critters and surroundings. Each book in the Mayer’s Little Critter series sends a message and offers tips for living life in various situations. Whether a new baby is arriving or time spent with a parent or a book about feelings, these are worth so much more than the small price tag placed on them.
This is a great addition to any library and affordable to buy in quantities to give to all the kids in a special education class and offer to therapists who work with special needs kids. This would be a good book to teach other children about kids that are different and how in the end they all become friends.
This encourages children to discuss their feelings while learning about what critters do all day. For a preschooler up to a school age child, Just A Little Different can be a useful tool in teaching many family values.
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