You Are Special

Author: Max Lucado
Copyright Date: 1997
Publisher: Crossway Books
Number of Pages: 31
Reading Level: Ages 5 & Up
Genre: Parable, Picture Book

Summary

This is the story of the town of Wemmicks, who are small, wooden, people carved by the woodworker named Eli. They all looked different, but were all made by Eli. Each Wemmick had a box of gold stars, and of gray dots that they would give to each other. The pretty Wemmicks with pretty paint and smooth wood were given stars, but the rough Wemmicks or ones with chipped paint were given the gray dots. They also received stars or dots depending on how talented they were. Receiving dots made the Wemmicks feel good about themselves, and they would try so hard to get more stars. If you could only do little, they you were given a dot. One Wemmick, Punchinello, always got gray dots. If he tried to jump he would fall, his wood would chip, and he would get more and more dots. He sometimes said silly things or stepped in a puddle of water, and he would be given more dots. Sometimes, because he had so many dots, people would give him dots for no good reason. People didn't think he was a good wood person, so he started to feel the same way; he didn't think he was a good Wemmick.

One day he met Lucia, a Wemmick who didn't have any dots OR stars; they wouldn't stick. Punchinello wanted to be like her, so she told him to go visit Eli, the woodworker, because she did so every day. He decided to go visit Eli the next day. He was about to leave when Eli called his name, and said he created him. He told Punchinello that he didn't care what other Wemmicks thought of him, and he shouldn't either. He told Punchinello that all that mattered was what he thought, and he thought Punchinello was special. Eli tells him that the stickers only stay if you let them. He said, "The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers." Before Punchinello left, Eli reminded him about how much he loved Punchinello. He thought to himself, "I think he really means it", and as he did so, a dot fell off.

Reaction

I absolutely LOVE this book. It has such a powerful message, and I think it is one that everyone needs to hear. It's a good analogy to how much Heavenly Father loves us, and it doesn't matter what the world thinks. Great book!

Recommendations

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's wonderful!

Problems/Conflicts

The only problem in this book is that people give dots if they "fail". However, Punchinello learns to overcome the opinions of other people.