We just discovered a wonderful new book that’s not only a great holiday gift, but a timeless story that teaches kids about what it feels like to be different. As the second story in the Rosie the Pink Hippo series, Rosie and Friends Positively Different tells the story about why it’s important celebrate your differences.
Along the way, Rosie meets other animals who question celebrating your differences. With a positive and strong perspective, Rosie proclaims: “differences encourage us to explore new places, people and things.” While reading this, we loved how direct and clear the book was as it posed questions (through various animals) about the uniqueness of all people. We really appreciated how this honed in on specific feelings through different scenarios as the animals discussed what it was like to feel different. This was specifically seen through the Ostrich character who eventually learned to appreciate being different with her exotic feathers. Heartfelt and educational, Rosie and Friends Positively Different ends with a fun song that beautifully ties in the themes and messaging of this positive story. It also features a clear summary at the end that highlights what makes all of the animals unique.
Written by Helen Hipp, a certified psychotherapist, the book was inspired by a trip that was led by the author’s father to Africa with her 14-year old son Ray, who has special needs. Through this series, Hipp created a wonderful way to enlighten and teach kids about the value of seeing things as they appear compared to how they really are. This is clearly seen in the book as kids (and their parents) can better understand to be happy in spite of being different and the challenges that they bring.
A Different Kind of Safari is available for $17.95 on Amazon, and is also available in Audiobook through Audible and iTunes.
We were provided a sample for review. All opinions are our own.
