Beautifully Different by Dana Salim

I’m always a fan of books for kids who reference important people who have tried to make the world a better place for those who may be other. In this case, in the back of the book, the author highlights quotes for Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Prophet Muhammad saying that these are people who stood out in the world for being different.

As the book title suggests, being different is beautiful allegory about how things that are different are not bad. Little Yousuf talks to his father about an issue at school in which some kids are being teased because they are different. The father leads Yousuf through an easy to understand story about weeds choking out beautiful flowers because they are different. I think this story within a story, while extremely basic, is a concept that even the smallest children can understand: different is not bad, different is beautiful.

How adorbs is little Yousuf on the cover? This book is a great and unexpected addition to the Diversity Reading Challenge!