Where is it written that we all have to be the same? Why do some people so desperately want others to conform? Why can't we simply accept people for who they are?

If you think about it, the world would be a very dull place if we were all the same. It is our differences that make life interesting, and we need to reassure children of that, both concerning themselves and in their perception of others and behavior toward them.

AT THE LIBRARY

"Stand Tall" by Joan Bauer, Putnam, 182 pages

Read aloud: age 10 and older

Read yourself: age 11 and older

Twelve-year-old Tree is too tall: six feet, three and a half inches, and growing. His height has many people expecting Tree to be a lot more mature than his 12 years. It's not easy being Tree, but thankfully he has his Vietnam vet grandfather to help him understand how to tough things out. Not only has his grandfather experienced war, but he recently had his leg amputated and is learning how to live without it.

As Tree helps his grandfather learn to walk again, he learns a lot of truths from his grandfather and his outspoken, new friend, Sophie. When tragedy strikes their small town, Tree discovers all kinds of things about himself, including what it really means to stand tall.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: Otis Library, 261 Main St., Norwich

Library Director: Bob Farwell

Choices this week: "Banjo Granny" by Sarah Martin Busse; "Thank You, Mr. Falker" by Patricia Polacco; "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"Lost in Bermooda" by Mike Litwin, Albert Whitman & Co., 2014, 140 pages, $14.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 6, 7 and older

Read yourself: age 8 and older

Nine-year-old Chuck Porter is a cow who lives on the island of Bermooda. All of the residents of Bermooda are cows until the day Chuck encounters something he'd never seen: a live hu'man! Chuck is terrified; he'd heard the dreadful story of hu'mans - how they eat cows. Well, Chuck is not about to be this hu'man's next meal, but when Chuck asserts himself, the hu'man, a boy named Dakota, begins to cry.

Realizing that Dakota is not something to be feared, the two sit down, talk, and a friendship begins.

"Cuckoo!" by Fiona Robertson, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2014, 36 pages $16.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 3 to 6

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

When Cuckoo and his siblings hatch, all seems right with the world. Unfortunately it is not. No one can understand a word Cuckoo says and he looks a little different, too. So Cuckoo decides it will be best if he leaves his nest and goes "in search of someone who could understand him."

Hilarious and thought-provoking, this story offers multiple layers of what it is to find a friend and a place to fit in.

kendal@sunlink.net