Nick wears blue glasses to school. He is worried that other kids might not like his look. On the way to school, a classmate who wears new braces comments that Nick’s glasses look cool. This makes Nick wonder if “maybe being different isn’t so bad.” He looks around and realizes that “we are all different in some special way.” From this young boy’s viewpoint, the world is full of beautiful diversity, from people’s skin colors to religions, hobbies, and special needs. Nick realizes that “without our differences, the world would be a boring place.”
In this picture book, the author affirms valuing diversity. She builds the values of mutual respect and empathy into conversations about how to deal with differences in opinions and behaviors: “What also makes us different is how we feel. With the same situation, we differently deal.” Acknowledging that these differences sometimes create distance, the author introduces a unifying theme of common human emotions: “We have the same thing … when we love, we have wings; when we grieve, we cry tears.”
After this journey of reflection, the boy Nick finally arrives at self-acceptance: “This is who I am. I love EVERYTHING about me. Accepting myself the way I am makes me feel free.” The book ends with an insightful quote from Ola Joseph: “Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.” (World of Kids Emotions)
About the Author
Mary Li Ma is a member of Plymouth Heights CRC church in Grand Rapids, Mich. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and now works as a research analyst for a national research center on education equity.