Ooko

“I am Ooko.  I am a fox.  I live here, under this log.  I have stick.  I have a leaf.  I have a rock.  But I do not have a friend to play with.”

“Ooko” by Esme Shapiro

Have you ever felt like you needed to change yourself to fit in?  I think we all do at some point in our lives.  It is at those times where it is nice to remember that there are those that love you just as you are and that being yourself is what will make you the happiest.  This is a lesson I want so dearly to instill in my children and Ooko is a good book to introduce that topic.

Ooko is a fox that has a stick, leaf, and rock.  However, he has no friend to play with.  So, he heads out on a journey in search of a friend.  First he observes friends together and tries to figure out why they are likable.  Along the way he changes himself bit-by-bit until he thinks that he has achieved the peak of likability and heads off to make a friend.  He looks quite silly to a young readers delight.  He does make a friend, but he soon discovers that although he likes them very much, he isn’t having much fun.  He learns that it is because he isn’t being true to himself and in the end he finds another friend with similar interests and the two become inseparable.

I love the sweet message of this book.  It teaches to celebrate yourself.  It teaches to be true to yourself.  And it teaches that you don’t need to change yourself to find a friend who loves you the way you are.  Ooko is a character that is very likable with his simple way of expressing himself and his relatable problem.  I also adore the illustrations.  I have never seen a fox that is drawn quite like Ooko and it is refreshing.  I also appreciate all the little details in each picture as well as the “free-hand” style font.  It is a treasure.

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