Hidden Gem byauthor and illustrator, Linda Liu, offers a clever portrait about findingconfidence in being yourself. 

“I rock and roll and tumble,”says a little pebble as curiosity draws it to the Museum of Rocks to see theWorld’s Most Beautiful Gem. Once inside, the pebble encounters rocks in everyvariety of shape and color. The discovery leads the pebble to wonder how tobecome as special as the others. It imagines how it might need to change until…it finally comes face to face with the most beautiful gem of all. The littlepebble sees it’s reflection in the gem’s glowing surface and understands, atlast, that “…being special is being me!”

Liu’s minimalist rhyming text ispaired with bold visuals that allow the art to do much of the story telling,while the words define the narrative.

Designed for readers 4-8, thisbook is a charming reminder that we are all special in our own way. The subtlemessaging provides parents and teachers with a variety of talking points forconversations about self-confidence, inclusion, and acceptance of ourselvesand, by extension, others.

Recommended for home and schoollibraries.