Premium Members Get 10% Off and Earn Rewards Find Out More

One of a Kind

Add to Wishlist

One of a Kind

eBook(NOOK Kids)

$7.99

eBook(NOOK Kids)
$7.99

Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps.

WANT A NOOK? Explore Now

Buy As Gift

Related collections and offers

Overview

Bold, graphic art by indie rocker Chris Gorman of Belly captures the thrill and challenges of marching to your own beat.

Meet a pogo-dancing, punk-rock-loving kid who loves to express himself in his own unique way. His clothes, hairstyle, music, and just the way he hears the world, all set him apart. Not everyone understands him, but he likes being one of a kind--even though it's lonely sometimes. Fortunately, it's a wide world out there, and if he looks around a kid is sure to find other one-of-a-kinds with common interests.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524740634
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	78 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Chris Gorman also wrote and illustrated Indi Surfs, which The New York Times called, "As simultaneously exhilarating and meditative as surfing itself." He's a drummer--and founding member--of the Grammy-nominated band Belly, as well as a professional photographer. Born and raised in Rhode Island, he now lives in Long Beach, New York, with his wife and two children.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

04/02/2018
The boy who narrates this story has a tight leather jacket, a drum kit, and a spiky fauxhawk haircut. “I’m a kid who’s always been a little different,” he says. “Maybe it’s the way I dress. Or the music I like.” As in his picture book Indi Surfs, Gorman alters black-and-white photographic images to make striking halftones with rich black shadows. The text is laid out on torn paper scraps of pink and yellow, in the style of Sex Pistols album art. It’s not easy being different, the boy admits; “It can be lonely and frustrating!” He sits on the front steps of a building, his head on his arms. Then, three other kids show up with their own instruments to keep him company. “It’s great to be one of a kind together,” the boy decides, as the kids perform at high volume. Children who feel different for reasons outside their control—the places they’re from, the way their bodies look—may feel that this boy’s challenges don’t speak to theirs. But readers whose unconventional tastes are at odds with the authorities will enjoy his energy and self-assurance. Ages 5–8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A picture-book celebration of individuality and community. An affirming, first-person text is paired with digitally manipulated photo art to follow the narrator through contemplations about what it means to be ‘a little different.’ . . . Throughout, the child listens to music, dances, and drums, developing the character as a pint-sized punk rocker. . . . It isn't always easy. ‘I like being one of a kind’ reads one spread with the child exultant at a drum set, but a page turn shifts the tone and leads up to the line ‘It can be lonely and frustrating!’ with the child now sitting dejectedly on a front stoop. . . . Race is never named, and illustrations can be read as presenting the narrator and one other child as kids of color, though skin color isn't apparent, with just the white of the page and some shading. Rock on, kids!.”—Kirkus Reviews

“As in his picture book Indi Surfs, Gorman alters black-and-white photographic images to make striking halftones with rich black shadows. The text is laid out on torn paper scraps of pink and yellow, in the style of Sex Pistols album art. . . . Readers whose unconventional tastes are at odds with the authorities will enjoy his energy and self-assurance.”—Publishers Weekly

“The stark contrast in colors on each page could represent the intense feelings of the protagonist enjoying his independence and interests while still feeling isolated. Gorman has penned an exceedingly relatable book and most readers will connect with the protagonist’s dilemma, regardless of their music tastes. . . . A must-have wherever music, especially punk rock, is popular.”—School Library Journal

“Bold, vibrant design showcases the child’s emotions in this picture book with a perennial message of self-acceptance.”—Booklist

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—This is a story about a young boy who marches to the beat of his own drum, though he occasionally does feel lonely. Set in the city, the boy dresses in jeans, T-shirts, and a leather jacket and boots, with hair cut in a mohawk. He loves to play the drums and listen to punk music. He hears the sounds of the city and feels the energy of its pulse. This is displayed through the use of bold black text on a bright, ripped-paper banner over digitally modified black-and-white photographs. The stark contrast in colors on each page could represent the intense feelings of the protagonist enjoying his independence and interests while still feeling isolated. Gorman has penned an exceedingly relatable book and most readers will connect with the protagonist's dilemma, regardless of their music tastes. There is a happy ending when the child finds other kids to form a band with. VERDICT A must-have wherever music, especially punk rock, is popular.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

2018-02-13
A picture-book celebration of individuality and community.An affirming, first-person text is paired with digitally manipulated photo art to follow the narrator through contemplations about what it means to be "a little different." The text never assigns gender, and the illustrations embrace this ambiguity. The child sports a mohawk hairstyle and on different spreads is depicted wearing a leather jacket, dark jeans, a white tank top, and Converse high-tops. Throughout, the child listens to music, dances, and drums, developing the character as a pint-sized punk rocker and rejecting a strict gender binary. It isn't always easy. "I like being one of a kind" reads one spread with the child exultant at a drum set, but a page turn shifts the tone and leads up to the line "It can be lonely and frustrating!" with the child now sitting dejectedly on a front stoop. Until this point, all spreads have presented the child alone, but then finding an accepting group of peers "who are a little different, too" is just what the narrator needs. The other kids are all musical, too, and they form a band. Just as gender is unspecified by text, race is never named, and illustrations can be read as presenting the narrator and one other child as kids of color, though skin color isn't apparent, with just the white of the page and some shading.Rock on, kids! (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews