You Are Special

Rating:
Summary: It touch my heart.
Review: This book was great. My children truly enjoyed it , we cried. It truly made me stop and think about how I am living my life. I will give it often as a gift. Food for thought.

Rating:
Summary: We are all special!
Review: We bought this book for the children who come to our center because they have been sexually abused. It is a wonderful book which helps these children understand that they are so very special and the abuse is just a small part of who they are. Most of the children we see think that others can tell that they were abused. Lucado wrote a story to help children believe in themselves and that it doesn't matter what others think. They realize that people cannot tell they have been abused. They also realize they are loved and wanted because Eli loves Punchinello as well as all of the other Wimmecks for who they are. This book is now read to those children who come for therapy to our center. It has also been "therapy" for the therapists and staff members who work at the center. I recommend that every household and every business which deals with children should own this book.

Rating:
Summary: Just Beautiful
Review: What a wonderful message for children to hear: that they're special just because they're ours. It's a great springboard to discussions about our value in God's eyes, about grace, about parental love...and it's got gorgeous pictures into the bargain.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book for All Ages
Review: This is a wonderfully written, touching story that reminds people of ALL ages just how much we sometimes not only label other people, but also how much we perform according to how others have labelled us. It's time to break free from those labels and realize that the only thing that matters is what God thinks about us and whether we're living according to His standards. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a short but very meaningful story. It makes a great gift too!

Rating:
Summary: You Are Loved Because You're YOU!
Review: This beautifully-illustrated storybook is an allegory of God's love revealed in a simple story about a little wooden boy who discovers that he has value and is loved simply because he is loved by the one who created him. Punchinello and all the other Wimmicks--little people made of wood--spend their days wandering around and evaluating one another. The standards are set by society: the talented and beautiful receive shiny gold stars; the less attractive and ordinary, an ugly gray dot. Punchinello, who is no different from the other Wimmicks, but excels at nothing in their eyes, is covered with the ugly dots. One day, Punchinello meets Lucia, a Wimmick who has no stickers on her at all. Amazed, he quizzes her and finds that it is because she has come to know Eli, their creator, and this knowledge has given her the ability to feel loved and accepted no matter what anyone else says. Because she is secure in Eli's love, the stickers others try to affix simply will not stay on. Punchinello visits the kind woodcarver and nestles in the love and acceptance of a proud father. He leaves Eli feeling strangely warmed, but still unsure of his worth. As he remembers his time with Eli, he realizes he IS worthy. He IS loved. And the gray dots that have covered his little wooden body begin to fall off. A terrific message for children--an equally important message for the adults who read the story to them.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful children's book
Review: This book is so touching. It was just the message my seven-year-old son needed to hear, growing up in the midst of a world that so often judges by appearance and popular opinion, rather than by a person's heart and faith. I highly recommend it for children and adults alike.

Rating:
Summary: Dots and Stars for Lucado
Review: This book is a component. It doesn't focus on the Bible's message in its entirety, but only a portion of it: That portion being that The Creator made us and loves us unconditionally. I believe this to be a wonderfully timely message for children, adults and anyone who will hear it. How priceless is the message that it really doesn't matter what everyone else thinks of us? That the only opinion that does is God's? I could use this reminder and I'm 24 years old. To those of you who condemn this book and its author... that's okay! Because your gray dots fall right off of him!!! :)

Rating:
Summary: There's no disguising that this is just GOOD!
Review: Some people really miss the point. Max is not trying to disguise anything. This is a Christian story. It is about God (dare I say it). The author is a minister. Some stories just shouldn't be disguised. This is an absolutely wonderful story to share with all children. I like most of Max's books but these new ones have even better illustration, which keeps the children's interest even more. Many of the books sound the same but they are a welcome change to regular mix of childrens' stories.

Rating:
Summary: Heavy-handed
Review: I'm obviously in the minority here, but I think children are smart enough to know when they're being preached to. I received this book for my daughter's baptism, read it once, and put it back on the shelf. As another reviewer said, it's like the author picked out a moral/message and then wrapped a flimsy story around it. It also sounded like a Christian knock-off of Dr. Suess. There are great stories out there that also have a message, but they're well-written enough to disguise the preachiness. Skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Chair For My Mother
Review: I am writing this review in response to another review that stated that this was a book that made Christ's death on the cross a non-essential. I have always looked at this as a book to believers, a book that encourages young believers not to allow the world to taint them, but to continually go back to their Creator and Savior for their identity. I don't think that this book was meant for non-believers to develop a veiw of God, but for believers, young and old to be encouraged that the world does not determine our identity, God our Father does. If you read some of Max Lucado's other childrens book this underlying theme of God's children knowing and understanding who they are is evident. This is a wonderful book, something I think everychild should have!