Book Review - John Jeremy Colton

John Jeremy Colton was a gift to us when our oldest daughter was a baby. It has recently resurfaced as a bedtime favorite for all of our kids. I like that the story is told in rhyme. As a big Dr. Seuss fan I am always amazed when an author is able to pull this off with ease. Also it is a concept that is challenging to our daughter's pragmatic language skills, so it is probably good to read as many rhyming stories as we can to her. I also love all of the color and some of the zany-ness of the illustrations. It certainly brings home the message that the main character (John Jeremy Colton) is "one of a kind". The only thing I don't like is that the text of the story is incorporated into the zany illustrations to the degree that it is sometimes distracting. For children who are struggling to learn to read this might be off-putting. Even for the parent reading aloud it may be easy to get the story mixed up a bit. Meanwhile, the story is a true gem. John Jeremy Colton simply does not fit in with his environment nor with his peers. He likes bright colors, strange foods, odd dress, and rambunctious children. His strong and lively spirit begins to fade as he is excluded from society, but in the midst of tragedy he proves hero to those who shunned him most. Soon everyone around him decides to let their own personality parade into view. I think the lessons of this story are good both for those who are feeling they don't belong, and those who need to learn to appreciate individual differences. You just never know what a hero might look like, or where they might live.