Hyewon Yum

The author introduces us to a little girl who is self-conscious about a birthmark on her forehead. She calls the mark Toto. She tries to hide it with her hair, but when she hangs upside down on the monkey bars, it is inevitably discovered by her new school friend Niko.

She feels shame and starts to turn away, but to her surprise, Niko likes Toto. She said her aunt told her a birthmark on your face means you have another life, and Niko is actually jealous of her! Niko exclaimed: “I love show more Toto! And you’re just extraordinary!”

Now, the little girl doesn’t feel bad at all: she feels “extraordinary!”

The author/illustrator uses largely grayscale drawings in pencil and watercolor, helping make the birthmark, which is pink, more prominent, a reflection of how the little girl regards it.

Being different can add to insecurities for kids - there seems to be no shortage of mean kids who will help them feel bad. While this story ends happily, I wish Niko had reacted to the birthmark as just another attribute of her well-liked friend, rather than believing it had magical powers.

Nevertheless, this uplifting story may help the recommended reading group of 3 and older realize that what seems embarrassing to them may strike others as unique and special or merely inconsequential; they just need faith that acceptance and even admiration are out there waiting when the right friend comes along. Lasting connections are made because of inner qualities, not outer appearances; as the fox said in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s wonderful book, The Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” show less

I liked this book for many reasons. First, this children’s book has very strong illustrations. These illustrations enhance the story and bring emotion to the text. In the story, the mother is extremely nervous for her son to go to Kindergarten, however the boy is excited and reassures his mother that he will be okay. The illustrator drew the mother very small and blue to resemble her anxiousness while the boy is big and red because of his bravery. Another feature that I liked is the show more character portrayal. The mother and son in this story are very believable and realistic. The dialogue throughout the story helps develop the characters. It is clear that the mother is uneasy about her son going to school when she says “Oh dear look at the time, you’ll be late for school” and her son replies with encouragement “Don’t worry mom. We can run!”
The main message of this story is to enlighten readers that sometimes children are not the only ones who are nervous to begin school. Parents also have a hard time letting go of their children and this story represents these emotions very effectively. show less

This book tells a story that describes how both the child and parent must help each other overcome the obstacles and emotions of the first day of school. This book specifically presented the message of how parents also get nervous for their children when they start school and also need reassurance. I enjoyed this book because of two reasons. First, I think the writer’s use of first person point of view made the story more personal and enjoyable to read. The story is narrated by the son, show more whose dialog with his mother adds a deeper understanding of the emotions being felt by both of them throughout the story. For example, in one scene, the reader can feel the worry behind the mother’s words to her son, “Will you be okay in the big kids’ school? You’re so little.” Also, the little boy reassures his nervous mom by telling her “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, I’m already five!” This conveys to the reader the confidence the little boy has, through his narration. The second reason I enjoyed this book was its utilization of illustrations to help get across a specific idea or emotion. The illustrations depicted the mother as being very small and dark/colorless while she was feeling worried or scared and showed a big and bright illustration of the son because he was feeling excited and confident. One part specifically was an illustration of a very tiny, grey-colored mother being dragged by hand by her son who was drawn colorfully and taking up an entire page. This specific image showed the reader how each character was feeling on the inside based upon the illustration of them. show less

I enjoyed this story for many different reasons. The story helps the reader to realize the different viewpoints and emotions that go into the first day of kindergarten. In the book we read about how a child is extremely excited to go to his first day. As the story progresses we learn how his confidence goes down when he gets to the school but is instantly reinstated with a little encouragement from his mother. The words are important to this story, but the most significant attribute is the show more illustrations. Without the pictures, the story only seems to be about the young boy. However, the illustrations allow us to see the other side of the story. The pictures show us how the mother is extremely nervous about her sons first day. She starts off tiny and blue demonstrating her emotions. As the book progresses and the boy gets nervous, tiny and blue, the mom becomes full sized and colored. Without the illustrations, the words only tell half the story. show less