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With the stated goal of propelling “every student to a healthy and purposeful beginning,” Nahum declares in his children’s picture book, “You are special.” Though every human being is unique, we all have much in common, the author explains. Nahum takes the young reader on a journey through their own life, starting with the fact we are each here because of our “mother and father.” Rudimentary science ideas are explored (at a very basic, age-appropriate level), such as the mother and father bringing the reader to life by “creating a single living cell that was a combination of two cells from each of them.” Nahum empathizes that every human child is a “unique child of this Universe” with a special mission or purpose to accomplish. Every individual can come to know precisely the nature of their special mission, and this, the author suggests, is why we exist.
Lively, bold illustrations accompany the positive messages contained in this unique, expanded children’s reader. Both the artwork and text are entirely captivating. While longer than the average children’s picture book, there is so much fascinating material presented that one can easily imagine a child coming back to these delightful pages again and again. Quite likely, new “gems” will be discovered with subsequent readings. The author presents engaging material, from positive life affirmations to an inviting entryway for basic, elementary scientific notions, such as our senses, mitosis, reproduction, human bodily organs, environmental factors affecting development, variance in individual interests and talents, and more. These various ideas are woven together fantastically within a general children’s reader which proves to be as aesthetically and visually inviting as it is creative and celebratory in its embrace of the beauty of all life.