IT'S ME, CLAUDIA!

by Alyse Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1981

There's a reason why animal stand-ins serve so well to dramatize certain situations, and this is a negative example of why: Claudia's ears stick out (""You look just like a mouse,"" she says to herself in the mirror), so--after tape and glue fail to keep them down--she has recourse to a big, floppy hat. Under that hat, however, she can't see--or be seen: no more baseball with her friends (for one big thing), who are soon calling her ""the HAT."" So when it rains and she has to take the hat off, she runs to them in relief: ""It's ME, Claudia!"" To which they reply, ""It's sure good to see you again, Claudia!"" And that's it: a presumed lesson in self-acceptance that mostly illustrates the nuisance of wearing a big hat--whereas some of the animal embodiments of the theme (from Duvoisin's old Donkey, Donkey on) at least plant the idea, entertainingly, that everybody's a little different. This, on the other hand, is both thin and transparent.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Watts

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1981

Categories: CHILDREN'S