PETE'S CHICKEN

Pete knows that he is one-of-a-kind. He doesn't look or act or sound like any of the other kids at school. So when he draws a chicken with an orange head, blue wings, red thighs, purple feet, a yellow body, and a green tail, he is proud of his imaginative rendering. Unfortunately, the other kids don't see it that way and set about teasing him. He gets pretty riled up about the whole affair and goes home to show his creation to his mother. Eventually, he decides that his way is special and unique, and that he will continue to feel proud of it no matter what the others think. Although the spirited, goofy drawings in which all the children are presented as rabbits are partially redeeming, the overplayed message of this book is too didactic. (Picture book. 4+)