Little Smudge

by Lionel Le Neouanic

Hello—can I play with you? For a child, the entire world hangs on the answer to that question. But what happens if the response is NO ?
Lonely Little Smudge is searching everywhere for a friend—and when it sees a group of shapes playing together it thinks the wish has come true. But the colorful squares, triangles, diamonds, and circles all think Smudge is just too different…until it shows them all the amazing shapes it can form, and how magical its difference can be.
With bold, bright, and always surprising images—which range from abstract to cubist—this very special picture book not only celebrates the power of the individual but provides an appealing introduction to modern art.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Spanish Literature

48 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 2005

Reviews

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book with a great message. A little smudge looking for friends to play with is rejected by a group of colorful shapes because he looks different than the rest. But, after a powerful pep talk from his parents, Little Smudge realizes his potential, to shape shift into anything, and impresses his new friends.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the shapes but the story itself is super meh. There are lots of kids books with a similar premise and this one doesn't do a good job. The shapes are little jerks who dont really learn their lesson, and it turns out they can morph into any shape as well. So the smudge doesn't really have special powers. It's just not good.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

First grandchild due and ever since the first sonogram, the technician saying, "It just looks a smudge now; so little," we have called him Smudge. This children's book was originally printed in France. Very colorful and, hopefully, helpful to a little Smudge trying to make friends.

[Amanda Walz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a great example of being different and making friends.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

خودت نمی دانی
اما گنج بزرگی درون توست
یک گنج شگفت انگیز
ص21

[Alex Alfaro]

This book moves from boring black and white images to colorful images throughout the story as the little smudge begins to make friends. Before the little smudge realizes how special he is because he has the ability to transform into any shape that he wants, he feels left out when he tries to make friends with the shapes and the punctuation marks. I feel that this book could be used in many different subject areas of the classroom. For example, when the little smudge tries to play with the exclamation points, they “shout” for him to go away. This could be developed into a lesson about the function of exclamation points and other punctuation marks. Similarly, there is a part in the book when the little smudge tries to play with squares, triangles, and circles. This part of the book could be used to teach children about shapes and colors. In addition, I feel that this book has the ability to not only make kids feel empowered in what they can do, but also make them aware that they are special, like the little smudge, in their own unique way.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this was a pretty good children's book. The pictures were cute and it introduces children to many shapes. When the Little Smudge goes home crying after being rejected by a group of colorful shapes, his dad fills the little smudge in on a little secret - he can shapeshift! He ends up being accepted by the other shapes and they become great friends. It was a cute story because it urges kids to share their interests with others. While it was a good story, the Little Smudge had to make himself different in order for the other shapes to like him which was not such a great point.

[Krupal Morjaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Smudge is about a smudge that feels left out. Smudge is surround by beautiful shapes, but smudge looks a lot different from the rest. It is difficult for smudge to find where he belongs in life, but when he shows the other shapes that its okay to be different, they being to appreciate him a lot more. The book did a good job of showing how being different is a good thing. Numerous children sometimes feel as though they're a lot different from their classmates, but once they accept this difference and show their friends why its good to be who they are, they begin to realize that having a disability or being a different race isn't a bad thing.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Smudge has a great look to it, not the actual character which is a small incongruous ink blot, but the book itself. None of the vibrantly colored geometric shapes will have anything to do with Little Smudge, which sends him home crying to Mama and Papa Smudge.

If you've never seen a smudge shed tears, it isn't a pretty picture. His parents encourage him to tap into his inner abilities, and tell him that he is capable of "wonderful things" which he indeed is. Little Smudge then uses his power to scare the bejeezus out of the snooty shapes, which ultimately wins them over.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The effective use of white space in this book contributes to the way the text interacts with the artwork. Le Neouanic uses limited art and basic shapes to teach a timeless lesson. The text is set in a simple font and the size of the text changes in relation to the volume or to the importance of the words in the story. The complete abscence of art on one page of the story works just as well as the full color two page spread found on another. Each example serves to strengthen the text, just in very different ways.

[Iacopo Melio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carina l’idea di contrapporre una macchia indefinita a tante forme ben precise, per far capire il concetto di inclusione/esclusione della diversità... ma poi alla fine ognuno si rivela unico e diverso, e questa “specialità” rende attraente e avvicina tutti quanti fino ad incastrarsi e diventare una cosa sola!

[Kristin Sprague · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Even though the story and illustrations are simple, the book has a good message. This book may not be all that engaging because of the style of illustrations, but the story was interesting and unique enough to draw my attention and motivate me to keep reading.

[Carla Raymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach about imagination and creation. This could also be a great book to teach about friendship and how you shouldn't judge a person from the outside. In this case, the others didn't realize what the little smudge was capable of until later on and they were captivated.

[Rachel Gonzaloz De Reta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanto leer este libro con mi hija de 3 años 10 meses, ella ya lo había leído en el colegio y fue fascinante verla recordar lo que el libro dice. Lo leímos nuevamente juntas y después me lo leyó a mi. Una historia muy bonita, con figuras, emociones y transformaciones.

[Denae Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to show how each of us can be unique. Also, we shouldn't judge people by the way they look.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book to help me teach my children: life is difficult and scary, life is fluid, life is beautiful.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most wonderful books around. Good for kids, and adults who need a reminder that life is full of unique people, and that is what makes it worth living!

[Sus · Rating 5 out of 5]

new on my list of most favoritest children's books.

[Gladys Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to use when teaching about being friendly to each other in the classroom and in the playground.
I read this to a group of kindergarten (24) and they loved the story.

[Craresources · Rating 5 out of 5]

TOLERANCE. PLAYGROUND. BEHAVIOR. Good book to teach about accepting and appreciating differences.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book about acceptance of who you are, differences and how to learn from each other.

[Lonica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this picture book! The moral is great; the illustrations surprisingly clever; and the story is worth reading over and over again. One of my favorites to date.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those great preschool books that teaches shapes and the importance of being nice.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and sweet.

[Poupee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermoso libro para niños que habla de la inclusión

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about making new friends

[Claudia Perlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My four year old loves this book! It's a wonderful book in Spanish.

[Wlitner]

Colourful. Imaginative. And a great way to teach my kids about shapes and how to ask to play with people.