Books

This bilingual (Spanish/English) Children’s Illustrated story, Danny Is Different is about a little green snake that is born with special needs. His parents who are upper-class snobbish snakes living a fast-paced life in the city, are afraid of what the neighbors may think if they take their son out in public because he is handicapped. Mrs. Slither wonders if she should allow one of their country kinfolk to adopt him so that she and her husband don’t have to deal with a son who is physically challenged. But she changes her mind when her newborn snake son says, “I love you.” Fatherhood becomes the richer due to the fact that Mr. Slither has stayed overlong at work before his son’s birth, and Mrs. Slither’s social status may have to be compromised—the couple have to deal with this issue and therefore they are forced to spend more time at home as a family. This book is about fatherhood, and motherhood, and growing up to accept the role of being parents. It is about what it means to love a child with special needs and learning that perhaps their son’s handicap can be an asset. This is about a mother and a father accepting a baby who has special needs; it is about family relationships, peer pressure, uncomfortable social settings, and social norms. It is about being bullied by the community and how to overcome that. It is about being unique and accepting others who may appear physically different that may be mocked in social settings and cause awkward situations for upper-class snob snakes. This is about gossip and overcoming prejudices, at home, in the family, and in the community. Danny doesn’t realize his being different is a challenge and he continues what he does best, he becomes a team player and learns to get along with the kids (cats and dogs) on the other side of town who honor him and aspire to be like him, because he is a World Cup-type soccer player. How can that be? The city neighbors are never clued in to Danny’s special needs until one day when their neighbor Cindy Snooty spies on them and realizes that Danny is different. She can’t wait to spread the gossip. Danny’s parents are shocked when the city councilman, Jeremy Flake stops by to investigate the claims that Danny is malformed. He informs Mr. and Mrs. Slither, that the community can’t have this type of person living in their neighborhood. What happens to the family? Are they rail-roaded out of town? Does justice triumph or prejudiced neighbors win out? Children, adults, or friends discover that keeping a child who is different is a lesson in compassion, learning, and all involved can be blessed. After all, the uniqueness in an individual is what makes our lives the richer. Author, Tedi Tuttle Wixom wrote this story with two things in mind: social prejudice, the upper class attitudes verses lower class, and physical handicaps. One of her six healthy sons was born with a familial heart disease, and he received a new heart in Loma Linda California when he was nine months old. This true account is titled A Whisper of Springtime: Jason’s Heart Transplant Miracle. Because of the many prejudices and snide remarks that she got from her son’s classmates, neighbors, and family members, she wanted to show that being unique is a blessing, and accepting a person for their physical limitations is commendable. Being true to principles of love and self-esteem and championing the unique person at home, in family relationships, and remembering to never give up even when others believe that being different is “scary, socially unacceptable, fuels fear, and causes many awkward social situations.” Danny shows us that it’s okay to be different and to embrace that part of any person, or snake like Danny. He changed the course of his community and snake history. And so can every individual. This is a bilingual edition.