Let's Change That! Book #Review

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are my own.

     One thing that makes me super proud as a mom is how accepting my kids are of people's differences.  They make friends with children of all ages, races, and abilities.  We try to discourage stereotypes and appreciate people based on who they are, not who their family or friends are, etc.

     Still, we have known people who are less accepting.  I hope that my children are never influenced in any way to form prejudices.  I find that life is so much less complicated when you just try to be nice to everyone, regardless.

     I recently came across a book that I think does a good job at getting kids to think differently about labels.  The book is called Let's Change That: If Animals Can, We Can Too!  It was written by Dr. Bashar Salame, a chiropractor and married father from Michigan.  It's about a cat, Felix, who wanders outdoors and stumbles upon a baby bird in need of help.  Not to be one defined by harsh stereo-types, the cat decided to try to recruit help to save the bird.  He even decided to try to convince a dog to break free of his own social "shackles" to help him!  As it turns out, not everyone Felix asked to help was willing to jump out of the bystander role and help out.  But as they soon learn, there wasn't really anything to be afraid of.  Doing the right thing should never be scary.

     When I asked Punk what she thought the book was about, she said that it was about friendship and teamwork.  When I asked Streaker, she said that it was about changing the way things are normally done and helping others.  This shows that even young children clearly get the message the book delivers.

     The book is a great story and I'm glad my kids love it.  What I really love about the book is the colorful and fun illustrations.  I'm actually kinda super picky about the imagery in children's books, most just aren't "there" for me, but this book is beautifully done.  I would kill for Rainer Osinger to do the illustrations in my own book.  Okay, not really KILL.  Maybe a mosquito.  I'd kill a mosquito.  Or an earwigs.  I'm not much for killing.  But, moving on...
     The only thing that I had a hard time getting past was that the dog is a girl.  Every time it said "Bonnie", it took me a second to remember who Bonnie was because she just doesn't LOOK like a girl.  But then again, this book is about breaking stereotypes, so I guess it doesn't really matter after all, does it?
     If you;re interested, you can find this book on Amazon HERE.


Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.