Being Unique Makes You Special!
One day a bird hatches from an avocado fruit in, ââ?¬Å"Guac, the Avocado Birdââ?¬Â? by Julie Branch-Evans. He is green and has silly-looking wings. As far as he knows, he is the only avocado bird and he knows because he looks different, he will probably have a difficult time finding himself a home where he will feel safe and comfortable. As luck will have it, he finds a place with a vacancy sign, and he feels this will be the perfect home for him. But as heââ?¬â?¢s settling in, he never imagines that this very home will help him make new friends that will become like family to him. Did all the different animals learn to get along with each other?
I loved this story because of the uniqueness of the appearances of the animals and their personalities and felt they fit perfectly together living in Guac�s house. There was a cat named Melon, a mouse named Mango, a ferret named Bananas, a bunny named Blueberry, and a porcupine named Tomato. Each animal had unique colors and looked very different than other animals in their species. Each animal needed to find a place to call home and Guac�s ever-growing house seemed like the perfect place for all these different animals to settle into. Being different allowed all of them to enjoy each other�s uniqueness and helped them form strong bonds with each other.
I feel this story was the perfect example for children to learn that having unique appearances and personalities makes you different in a very positive way. It stressed that all these animals became close like family because they were all so unique. I feel that children need to have a lesson like this learned very early on so that when they see another person who might have a different appearance or display a different personality from their own, to look at this as an asset. As a matter of fact, it is often these differences that make friendships even more special.
The illustrations done by Stephen Lomazzo were fun and made me so engaged in getting to know not only Guac, but all the other animals finding a home to call their own. I loved the vibrancy of the colors chosen for each animal and honestly, because of their unique colors and appearances, these animals all carved a special place in my heart as I read the story. The illustrations only enhanced the telling of Guac and his friends� stories.
I really enjoyed reading this delightful children�s book. Children will learn that being different and unique is a true blessing you should embrace. This book is labeled for the reading age range of 4-8 years, and I think children of those ages will get a kick out of getting to know Guac and his friends. I highly recommend this book!
