You Are Special

by Max Lucado
Crossway Books, 1997, 31 pages

reviewed by Jeanette Dykstra

This is not the usual sugary “you are special” kind of book. It is an interesting little story about a small village peopled by wooden puppets. They have all been made by the woodcarver who lives in a small hut above the village. Each one of the puppets has a bunch of gold stars and gray dots which they put on each other throughout the day. Popular, good-looking, athletic and smart puppets get a lot of gold stars, whereas the shy, average-looking, clumsy and ordinary puppets get mostly gray dots. Punchinello is in this last group and he doesn’t think much of himself. The more gray dots he gets the worse he feels. Until he meets his maker.

It is an especially good book to read with small children (ages 5-7) who are not in the “in” group. It gives these children a different way of coping with their lack of popularity and their clumsiness. Their “maker” values them as His unique creation and He loves them. With this reminder, the awkward child can cope better.

You can buy You are Special at Amazon.com by clicking here.