An Angel's Kiss

I'll never forget that tearful morning when I first recommended Buddy Booby's Birthmark to a mom. She was about to register her beautiful daughter for kindergarten and she was coming to terms with the painful possibility that the child could very easily become the target of bullying behaviors as children aged and noticed her Port-Wine-Stained cheek. She lovingly told me that it'd always be an "angel's kiss" to her, but wondered out loud what they could do to prepare their precious angel for a potentially less-than-pretty reality.

Written by mother-son duo Donna and Evan Ducker, 
Buddy Booby's Birthmark tells that very story. 

Evan's story. 

Using birds instead of people.

A birthmark on Buddy's beak.

And people birds who don't always understand because they haven't walked in those webbed-feet before.

Now there's another book that tackles this same tough issue only it uses brilliant watercolor pictures of people rather than birds.

Told in rhyme and based on the authors' son's story, 

Sam's Birthmark by Martha and Grant Griffin is short and to the point. 
Sam is born with a birthmark near his nose and he isn't ashamed of it.

Not at all. Nor should he be.

In fact, it's what makes him unique. 

What makes him special.

What makes him Sam.

But when his friend Amy lets him know that his birthmark makes him different, Sam is faced with the new reality that not everyone celebrates different in the same way.

After reading either or both of these aloud, download the H chart below or create a double-bubble graphic organizer to compare and contrast these two titles.

Then ask your little angels to switch places and talk about how they would feel if they were Buddy or Sam. 

What might that experience be like? 

How would they handle it? 

What might they say? 

If surgery were an option, would they have the birthmark removed or just let it be? Sounds like a persuasive speech waiting to happen.

Check out these books; I think they'll be a rich addition

to your character building.