“I could be red… I could be green… I could be somewhere in between…” Diversity comes to life in the night sky of a faraway world where being different is quite normal.

This is a wonderful book for every child’s collection, written as an engaging poem for kids, with rich illustrations reminiscent of the works of Vincent van Gogh.

Imagine, if way out in space, on a planet far, far away there were other diverse cultures with differences and similarities just like we have in our world. Would we be tolerant? Do I Look Odd To You uses space as a starting point for a discussion on accepting differences and imagining a universe as multicultural as our own. As we explore the possibilities in space, we can relate those discoveries to the world around us and hopefully become more accepting of others.

The multicultural nature of humanity is one of our great strengths. It stimulates change and growth, so why do trivial physical appearances cause so much strife in the world? On a closer look we share far more similarities, so why is it so easy to focus on the little differences? These are some of the questions brought up by a very unique alien character in the book. “You’ll find as you travel through space that there are very few creatures with the same looking face.”

As humans, our appearance is always changing, from birth to the elder years, we go from small to big and smooth to wrinkled, and along with those physical changes, we value change and growth in our character and personality. One of the most important aspects of being human is acceptance for who we are, as we are, so it’s quite odd that accepting uniqueness in others would be so difficult.

Imagining a world without the rich multicultural communities that define humanity would be a bleak and boring vision. Do I look Odd To You is an imaginative and straightforward way to start the crucial but difficult discussion of racism and prejudices. And like the little alien in the book says: “If we can embrace our differences, then it’s easy to see that you can be you and I can be me!”