It's Okay To Be Different

This book is meant to teach readers acceptance. It would be great for a First Grade classroom. The book talks about topics such as it's okay to be adopted, it's okay to be a different color, it's okay to have different differences. It could be used in a lesson about how people are all different but that we need to learn how to accept peoples differences just as easily as we accept their similarities. Kid's could do a project drawing pictures and writing a little bit about themselves and what they know and love about themselves that is different them most kids in their classroom, and present it to the class so everyone can see that everyone is unique in different ways.… (more)

Its Okay to be DIfferent is a wonderful book to read to kindergarteners and even first graders. The book is all about being different! It talks about having different noses, missing teeth, big ears, wear glasses, it okay to ask quesions, help others, and many more. Everything the book talks about your students could relate too. The pictures are really cute and I really enjoyed reading it. It great for students to know and realize that everyone is different! I would reccomend reading it to your class.… (more)

I really like Todd Parr's books. The illustrations are great. I love how he uses so many bold colors. The illustrations are so simple too, but are also so strong. I read this book to my class when I found out we were getting a new student with special needs. It talks about all the differences we have as individuals and how it's okay to be different and that we are all special in our own way. I really loved reading it and the discussion that continued afterwards.… (more)

The message repeated throughout the text is, "It's okay to be different." This is an important message for children to hear. They need to know that just because they don't look the same, speak the same, or do the same things that they are just as special as someone else. Many times, kids feel as though they do not belong, stand out too much, or do not stand out at all. I have heard so many children say they have nothing that makes them special. As educators, it is our job to emphasize that everyone is different and equally important! This book helps to do that.… (more)

When our grandson visits us, everyone in town knows him – because he stands out. In any group of kids, he towered over his fellow three-year-olds and went nose to nose with seven and eight-year-olds. His skin colour is different too: in a rural village originally settled by Mi’kmaq (formerly MicMac) and then Scots, his half-Jamaican ancestry is very noticeable. So when I heard about It’s Okay to Be Different, I immediately reserved it at the library.

Everybody wants to belong – especially kids. So when a child is “different” from the others in his or her group, it can be easy for them to feel bad about themselves. Todd Parr wants every kid to know “You are special and important just because of being who are”, and he’s written It’s Okay To Be Different to get that message across.

Illustrated by the author with outlined-in-black figures that are painted with bright primary colours—blue faces, orange hair and so on—this book delivers the message in short, clear statements: it’s okay to have a different nose, it’s okay to wear glasses, to have an invisible friend, to have different moms or different dads, to be embarrassed, to be a different color…. I’m not able to imagine a situation Parr didn’t cover in these 30 pages.

Although I don’t agree completely with Parr (I don’t think it’s okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub, but that’s me – I’m a mean old mom), I love the statement this book makes. I think you’ll want to buy this one so you can re-read it many times. A solid 4 stars.… (more)

In this book each page starts with it's okay to... it's okay to have no hair, or to be missing teeth, or to help others. This is a book about accepting others and letting children know that it's okay to be different. This is a great book about diversity and teaching acceptance. Preschool children and early elementary students will enjoy reading this book and discussing the differences they might have.… (more)

It's Okay to Be Different cleverly delivers the important messages of acceptance, understanding, and confidence in an accessible, child-friendly format featuring Todd Parr's trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes. Targeted to young children first beginning to read, this book will inspire kids to celebrate their individuality through acceptance of others and self-confidence.

Designed to encourage early literacy, enhance emotional development, celebrate multiculturalism, and promote character growth.… (more)

It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr is very similar to his book The Family Book. The illustrations in both books are colorful, dramatized, and lively. The message in the books are also similar: it is okay to be different. In It’s Okay to Be Different, Todd Parr tells children that it is okay to not be like everyone else. “It’s okay to have a different nose, It’s okay to be a different color, it’s okay to have different kinds of friends” are some of the differences mentioned in the book. The author also points out differences in abilities. On one page, a girl is seen wearing dark glasses, she is also holding on to the leash of a dog. The text reads “It’s okay to need some help”, the blind child needs help from her Seeing Eye dog to get around. On another page, a boy is shown sitting in a wheel chair. The text reads” It’s okay to have wheels”, the little boy needs his wheelchair and that is okay. My favorite line in the book is “It’s okay to be proud of yourself”. No matter how we differ or are similar to the people around us, it is important that we accept who we are and be proud of ourselves for it.… (more)

This book is basically about being different! It is okay to be different; no one is the same! It doesn't matter if a person have long hair and another person has short hair that doesn't make a person the same and it is okay to be different! Often times people down themselves because he or she may feel like an outcast but it is okay to be different!… (more)

I like Todd Parr and this is a nice book but it suffers from that thing of so many well-intentioned kids' books: they already think it's okay to be different and all that happens when you insist on it is you raise the confusing question of why anyone would think it wasn't. This one literally begins with "It's okay to be missing a tooth," which is basically the only time I've ever seen my kid look concerned about his missing tooth.… (more)