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I'm Not    by Pam Smallcomb & Robert Weinstock Amazon.com order for
I'm Not
by Pam Smallcomb
Order:  USA  Can
Schwartz & Wade, 2011 (2011)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Daninhirsch

This is a book that celebrates differences between friends and the ability to recognize one's own worth.

Two crocodiles (alligators? dragons?) are friends; one is much more colorful than the other. From the perspective of the narrator, Evelyn is the adventurous one, the goofy one, the outgoing one. Evelyn is a free spirit and does many things that her friend either does not do or thinks she cannot do.

'Evelyn is up on all the latest fashion trends.
I'm not.
'

Or

'When Evelyn comes over, she changes my room.
My scales.
And my pet worm.
She's a wonderful decorator.
I'm not.
'

But the tables turn when later in the book, the unnamed narrator realizes that she, too, has skills that Evelyn does not have, such as spelling, cookie-baking, and NOT being afraid of the dark.

What the two have in common, though, is that they are especially skilled at being true-blue friends, and the narrator comes to the welcome realization that each person in a friendship has something to give.

The book's simplicity belies its deeper message of self-acceptance and the acceptance of others. The illustrations are zany but do not overwhelm the text. A recommended book for younger children.

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