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Summary: Everyone in Dorothy’s house wears glasses, even her stuffed animals. Dad says it helps them see things better. All Dorothy sees is that she doesn’t look like she fits in with her family. Why doesn’t she need to see things better, too? This is a book about feeling left out.
Type of Reading: bedtime story, family reading, anytime reading, read aloud book
Recommended Age: read together: 3 to 8; read yourself: 8 to 10
Interest Level: 3 to 8
Reading Level: 2.5
Age of Child: Read with girl nearly 7 years old.
Little Kid Reaction: Our daughter can relate to this story. Both of her parents wear glasses, and she routinely tries to wear them (or gets her play ones). We talked about the story, and she didn’t really see the lesson about not fitting in, she “heard” the lesson about things being blurry when you wear other people’s glasses.
Big Kid Reaction: This is a cute story, and Dorothy drawing the glasses on the mirror was a neat idea! We kept looking for that “aha” moment that went beyond hair color (which they all had in common), eyesight and glasses to help Dorothy see that glasses don’t make you part of a family.
Pros: Children will relate to Dorothy and her desire to find things that make her like everyone else in the family. This picture book helps kids see that being unique doesn’t mean being an outsider.
Cons: The story closes with a subtle ending (in contrast to the rest of the story), so it feels like there are still loose ends.
Borrow or Buy: Borrow. The story has some value in helping kids see that their appearance doesn’t determine how they fit in a family, but there are stronger stories.
Educational Themes: Use this story to celebrate everyone’s unique qualities within a family. Create a list with things that you share in common, then build out from there.
Notes: This book is available in multiple languages.
Flesch Kincaid reading level 2.5
Literary Categories: Fiction - picture book, family, foreign language
Date(s) Reviewed: October 2008
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