Review #60: You Are Special

Lily (age 6):  "You Are Special."
Isaac (age 11):  By Max Lucado.
Gracie (age 9):  And illustrations are by... Sergio Martinez.
Isaac:  That's a long name.
Gracie:  I love this book.  It's got a sweet ending.  It just makes me feel happy inside.
Lily:  It's about a little wooden guy named Punchinello.  He is a Wemmick.  A Wemmick is a wooden man that this carpenter makes.
Isaac:  The carpenter builds all the little Wemmicks.
Gracie:  He's their "Maker Dude."
Isaac:  He's their creator.
Gracie:  How did he make them come to life and talk and stuff?
Isaac:  With his magic touch.
Lily:  Punchinello has a big nose.  And no one likes him.
Gracie:  People don't like him because he doesn't know any tricks.  He can't say big fancy words.
Isaac:  And the Wemmicks put gray dot stickers on anyone they don't like.
Lily:  They put big stars on the people they do like.  Stars are for people that are cool.  Dots are for not-cool people.
Dad:  And Puncinello was covered in dots.
Lily:  They put big, big, big gray dots on him.  He thought he had not a speck of special.
Gracie:  Punchinello doesn't give anyone else dots or stars.  I wonder why?
Lily:  The Wemmick in this page is my favorite.
Isaac:  He looks like a little robot.
Lily:  He's a cute dude.
Gracie:  I think all the Wemmicks are cute.
Isaac:  I like that blue one.  He has a weird head.
Dad:  He's getting a lot of dots too.
Isaac:  Wow.  Maybe he's just blue from dots.
Dad:  So, what happens to poor Punchinello?
Gracie:  When Puncinello goes to see the woodcarver, he feels like no one wants him.
Isaac:  The carpenter said, "It doesn't matter what they think.  It only matters what I think."  Because the carpenter really loves all the Wemmicks.
Lily:  He was special because the carpenter made him.
Gracie:  Then Punchinello gets all happy.  He feels really happy.
Dad:  The woodcarver loves the Wemmicks, not for what they can do, but because he made them.  Because they belong to him.
Isaac:  It's like God.  Even though people might not like you, God made you and He loves you.
Gracie:  Yeah, it doesn't matter what other people think.  It just matters what God thinks.  Because He made us.
Dad:  Does it work the other way too?  What if people praise you for the things you do, but God isn't happy?  Whose opinion matters in that case?
Gracie:  It just matters what God thinks.  What about that guy in the Bible who turned into an animal?
Dad:  King Nebuchadnezzer?  Yep, he thought he was hot stuff.  Not because of God's love, but because of his own pride.  And did it matter if he thought himself great?
Gracie:  Nope, because he turned into an animal.
Dad:  Not an actual animal.  He turned into a wild man and crawled around like an animal.
Isaac:  And ate grass.
Gracie:  And he let his hair flow.
Dad:  So good or bad, whose is the only opinion we should concern ourselves with?
Isaac:  God.
Dad:  So that deals with how we view ourselves...  Can we also learn anything about how we should treat others?
Isaac:  Treat them specially.  Don't make fun of people.
Gracie:  The next person is just as special as us.
Dad:  Who would this be a good book for?
Isaac:  For people who think they are not very special.  God loves us, and this book reminds us of that.
Gracie:  And if you've got a sweet heart and you like little cutie guys, this is a good book for you too.
Dad:  So Lily, are you special?
Lily:  Mm-hm.
Dad:  Why?
Lily:  Because God made me.  Actually, Jesus and God made me.  They worked together.

Punchinello, by Isaac

covered in dots, by Gracie

stickers bounce off! by Lily

Author: Max Lucado
Illustrator: Sergio Martinez
Published, 1997: Crossway Books
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