Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton

Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton
Illustrated By: Dom Rodi
Geared Towards: Ages 7-11
Published By: Great Little Books
Publication Date: March 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9790661-1-5

Growing up different can be especially hard for a kid, but what we as parents and teachers must strive to enforce is the mindset that being different is not necessarily bad. Every person alive is unique, and we should all delight in our differences because that's what makes our world such an interesting place. Whether short, tall, fat, thin, old, young, rich, poor, smart, and even not overly bright, we all have our place in this world. And many characteristics that we grow up hating about ourselves are later the ones we love so much.

With the story of Too Tall Alice readers will step in to the shoes of a girl 4 inches taller than all the other girls in her class. When impressionable, 8-year old Alice accidentally over hears her parents and neighbors discussing both the draw backs and pluses of her height, she finds herself caught up in a swarm of emotions. Her father says she's like a bean pole, but Alice doesn't want to be a bean pole. The neighbor says she's so tall and thin she could be a model, but she doesn't really want to be one of those either.

What should be a simple, fall in to bed and go to sleep, night turns out to be a huge adventure for Alice. She cries herself to sleep because she's worried she'll either stay like a bean pole forever (but make lots of money as a model) or end up normal like the rest of the girls (and have her parents not be able to afford to keep the roof over their heads). Neither is an ideal situation, and as any young girl will do she over thinks things entirely. But in her dreams, Alice begins to see there's not so much to worry about on the horizon. She learns that whether you're tall or short it doesn't matter. Life will always have plenty of great opportunities for you to seize. She learns though that first she must seize control of her own life, and learn to be happy with herself because of WHO she is not what she looks like. Recognizing that no one else cares whether she's a little different or not makes the world of difference for Alice. Waking up from her dream with a smile on her face, Alice has learned a lot and is ready to take on the beautiful day and all of life ahead of her.

This was a cute book that combined a great message with some really fun illustrations. I believe it's important for kids to learn how to be comfortable in their own skin at an early age. If you can teach a child to accept himself for who he is early on then you save him a lot of heartache years down the line. He will not only have a great advantage in life as a whole, but will also be prepared to be far more accepting of everyone around him as well, despite any differences they might have.


OUR RATING: 5 hearts