Customer Reviews

I Want to Be Somebody New! (Beginner Books(R))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Put Me In The Zoo, so I picked this up used without really reading it through. Well, it's a dollar I'm never getting back...!

Spot, who is better off in the circus than the zoo (seriously, read the original, because it rocks) is bored with being himself, so he decides to play around and change shapes. Will he be an elephant? A giraffe? A mouse?

We already know the ending - he's going to find out that his own shape is best. The only thing now is to find out WHY his own shape is best.

Well, it's not best because he can do things in that shape, or because other people are familiar with it, or because it's just a nice shape to be in, or even because he has opposable thumbs. It's best because elephants are too fat to go on see-saws, because birds nest in giraffe's ears (???) and because people put out traps to catch mice. Oh, and because his juvenile friends are judgmental brats who don't love their friend for who he is and support him in this crisis but tell him "We don't like you like that" every time.

Sheesh. I'm not sure if I even want to give this one away, but I guess it'll be less of a pain in a full classroom of books where each kid reads it about once or twice instead of over and over again.

This is a fun rhyming book with the message that while changing into something different can be fun, it is just best to be yourself. The problem I have with the book is when the main character, Spot, changes into an elephant. The children respond with "You're very big, you're very fat. We do not care for you like that." I'm not sure that's a great message for kids to be hearing. They can be judgemental enough without planting the seed.

I have a mixed opinion about this book. Spot, the main character, isn't happy with himself and so transforms himself into different animals: an elephant, a giraffe, and a mouse, but finally his friends convince him that they like him much more when he is himself.

I like the final message of the story: like yourself for who you are, but I don't really care for the way in which this message is conveyed. It's not that Spot discovers that he doesn't need to change to please others or himself, but on the contrary he finds that his friends are very judging about his new shapes: they don't like the elephant cause he's fat, the giraffe is too tall and the mouse is too small.

Children can be very harsh with their opinions without introducing a book that encourages this. As I said, the final message is great, but I think there are better ways of getting there.

However, my son likes this book. It's not his favorite but he does pick it up once in a while. He's 3y.o. and especially likes saying along with me the magic words "one, two, three, now look and tell me what you see" as Spot transforms himself each time.

Truthfully, however, I don't recommend it. There are better children books out there. On a similar subject I prefer for example "Happy birthday to you!" by Dr. Seuss, which celebrates the fact of being oneself "I am what I am! That's a great thing to be! If I say so myself, happy birthday to me!"

This book is used every day at our house! If your child is into the "Put Me in the Zoo" book, this one is a must-have!!!

I bought this book to see how it ended but it wasnt as good as Put Me in The Zoo. Some of the pages were colored and I couldnt appreciate the artists work. Kids dont like it as much either....

My children love this book. I noticed that someone reviewed and pointed out that the children say that Spot is fat when he is in the shape of an elephant. I don't care much for that myself, but it is a frequently used adjective. When teachers explain adjectives, they often use pretty/ugly, fat/thin, tall/short, and the like. It probably doesn't do much harm to describe an elephant as fat to a child. They probably hear their mothers say it about themselves on a regular basis; we all do it. The point in this book in which the word "fat" is introduced would be a good time to explain to your child that saying this about someone could hurt their feelings, which is probably the reason why Spot did not retain his elephant shape. The overall meaning of the story is to like yourself for who you are, and any shape or form has its pitfalls. This is an excellent book for beginning readers. The rhyming story makes it much more fun to read.