Book Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Wanda's Freckles
Barbara Azore
Tundra Books 08/09 Hardcover $19.95
ISBN: 9780887768620

Little Wanda has lots of freckles all over her body. They are "sprinkled across her checks and nose like raindrops on a windowpane." She likes them and feels they make her special. But when a group of boys laugh at her for having "spots," she is very upset. He mother discovers Wanda in the bathroom trying to cover up her freckles with lipstick and tells her that she loves her just as she is. Trying to be creative, she uses white paint to hide them, but a dog licks her face and all the paint off her freckles. She even tries to brush them away with a whitening toothpaste.

Then Wanda remembers that the old lady with the dog told her that "everyone must like you." It clicks in her mind and soul, and she returns to cherishing her freckles. This bright colored children's book by Barbara Azore with illustrations by Georgia Graham is a gem that ought to speak directly to the need for every child to feel special; it also teaches the kind of resilience needed to fend off attacks against his/her individuality.

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat