Megan and I (your Art Possible Ohio staff) are both parents too. I asked one of our kiddos to help me out with some blog posts by reading and writing some book reviews. Here is a review of a book board member Amy Ranalli shared with us. Author Amy Webb is from Ohio!

I’m Emily Cairney. I’m a sixth grader and WMS at school. I am in class with Special educational students and I really enjoy learning with them. I am friends with a boy named Malachie. He is the sweetest little boy you will ever meet and we have known each other since we were in Kindergarten. We have this special bond nobody else could have.  

Everybody sometimes feels different and that is okay. And when you are little sometimes you don’t know that some people are more different than all of us. If you are a parent it is important to teach your child about how some people are different or need more help than maybe your kid would. It’s okay to be different or look different or act completely different than the person sitting right next to you. 

Never be afraid to ask someone about their differences if they are okay with it and never be rude to them because they are different. IN the book “When Charley met Emma” written by  Amy Webb Charley thought he was different which he was and whenever he felt really different his mom said “ different isn’t weird sad,bad or strange. Different is different And different is okay!” 

I like this book because it shows how even kids can make other kids feel better about themselves.  It is a great book in general but also in the sense that it teaches a lesson.

A quick summary for the book is that a little boy named charley feels really different and his mom had a saying about being different is okay. But one day they went to the park and he saw a girl who was a little more different than him and he didn’t know what was wrong with her so he said something not very nice so his mom told him to go say your sorry and he did then she asked the girl some questions about her. Then they became friends. 

Feeling different is okay and don’t be ashamed to be different. Also learning about different disabilities is a great way to learn how some people are different.