Something Special

by David McPhail

Surrounded by parents and siblings with remarkable talents, Sam yearns to be good at something himself, and finds his own special niche when he discovers the pleasures of painting.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

David was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While there, he began illustrating. He is now an award-winning author and illustrator of nearly 200 books beloved by children, parents and librarians across the United States. McPhail has garnered many prestigious awards, including a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year for Mole Music in 2001. McPhail’s other books include First Flight, which the New York Times praised as “hilarious and helpful”; and Lost!, which was chosen as an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists.

McPhail has four children, three stepchildren, and is a proud grandfather. He is married to Jan Waldron, with whom he has written and illustrated several books. He lives in Rye, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) · Rating 1 out of 5]

All this book did was upset me AND small-fry.

It’s about a small raccoon named Max, who feels everyone in his family has a talent and he doesn’t. Until suddenly he picks up a paintbrush is an amazing painter and feels validated that he can also do something special.

1. This is boring

2. Teaching kids to define themselves by their talents is gross

3. Talent is not simply inherent, but about perseverance. People who have talents and skills found something they enjoyed and worked really hard to get better at it— whether it’s paining, baking, computer codings, playing baseball or reviewing kid’s books.

This led to a distraught four-year old who was convinced he wasn’t good at anything and had failed some sort of test he just learned existed. So yeah... definitely not a fan.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a family full of talented individuals, an adorable little trash panda yearns to find the one thing he's good at. A sweet story that urges every one to keep looking until they find those hidden talents they may possess.





With darling illustrations by the author.

[Sharlene Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone in Sam's family could do something special. Sam didn't think he could do anything special until one day he discovered his special talent.
I use this book to teach my 1st grade a lesson on text to self connections.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Persistence pays. To that end, this book is a little long for the theme and the audience, so it will take a bit of persistence to finish it. (Just a bit; I'm talking four minutes instead of three, something like that.)

[Sara Nehring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response:

I read the book, Something Special, to my younger sister, Madelyn. She enjoyed how Sam the raccoon finally found something special about himself when he thought he had no talent. Madelyn thought that the book taught a good lesson to kids to not give up looking for their own talent, because everyone has one even if they do not know it.


Plot:

Sam was a raccoon. One day he noticed that every member of his family had a unique quality to their personality. Sam felt left out, because he thought that there was nothing special about him. Sam’s sister could play the piano very well. Sam was not very great at this task. Sam’s father was a spectacular cook. Sam thought that he may have found a knack for this activity. Sam was unfortunately mistaken. After days on end of attempting new activities, Sam was about to give up and decide that he was just ordinary. Full of despair, Sam went to go visit his mother, when he happened to pick up a paint brush and was a natural at painting! Sam was sure glad that he found something special about himself.


Recommendations:

My sister, Madelyn, rated this book four out of five stars. She thought that the author could have added onto the story. She would recommend this book to and child, boy or girl, over the age of four. She thought that they should be able to understand the story, otherwise it would not make sense to them.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book we grabbed at the library. I can honestly say I loved this book! The illustrations were really darling and the basic message that everyone can do something special is fabulous for all children young and old!

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for self esteem

[Laneika Cason · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB33. A nice book for a child who is search for their special talent. The pictures were nicely detailed and complimented the text well.

[Cayla Lile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book! It has a simple message about finding your own talents and "special" things that you can do; everyone can do something special!

[Satangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it was a good read and was short and to the point.
Its a nice little story.

Its okay if there are others who are more talented than you are, it just takes practice and perserverance, along with endurance to keep on trying to find out what talent or skill is right for you and not to make others happy.

Although, some kids may become discouraged while reading because it seems that everyone in Sam family is more talented then him. But do not fret and give up.

I can relate to Sam because I had family and friends who were wonderfully skilled because of all the determination they put in to achieve it.
Which motivated me more as I found my talent in painting, just like Sam.
I may not be a professional painter or as good as an accomplished artist.
But, different styles of art (techniques and paintings) is what makes me happy. So you could say I found my talent in pating.

This book is more for a teaching lesson to kids.
Eiher can interprit it, in a postive or a negative way.

[Onnalee Lach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam is a raccoon who feels that he doesn't have any talents. The rest of his family is good at something, but he doesn't have the same skills as them. He is continually disappointed as he fails at each of their talents. After much testing, he finds his own "something special" that he can do.

I gave this book four stars. I think it's a good representation of the way that people differ. We're all good at different things, which is shown in this book. Especially for kids with siblings who feel they are less smart or talented, this book reaches those kids to tell them that they're good at something else and might just have to look harder. The illustrations are creative in their depictions of Sam's trials. Early elementary kids will have the words in their oral vocabularies, but may struggle to read the book on their own.

[Nina Fallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Special by David McPhail is a great book for kids. This is a story about a young racoon named Sam. He thinks that everyone has something special about them, everyone but him. He sees everyones special talent, and tries to find one of his own, but it never works out. He later helps his mom start painting, and realizes that painting is his special talent. Overall, this story is great for kids because sometimes they might think they aren't good enough at something, when in reality some people are just better at certain things. This can teach children that even though they aren't as good at something that someone they know is, doesn't mean they they don't have their own talent that others don't have.

[Jemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be quite delightful. Sam just wants to be able to do something special, just like the other members of his family. He begins his quest of self-discovery, and soon finds out that he can paint well. I resonate with this book because I, too, wanted to do something special as a child, and as it turns out, my "something special" is also painting!

This book is a simple read for young children, with wonderfully colored pictures.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book discounts the importance of hard work & perseverance. You can't discover your hidden talent for painting. You may discover a hidden PASSION for painting, which then inspires you to learn more about the techniques and motivates you to practice so you can become a talented painter. Sam, however, picks up a paintbrush and magically starts painting like some sort of prodigy.
This book was a McPhail fail.

[Elizabeth Houseman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book. I definitely thought the “special thing” the main character had was going to be based less in skill and more in personality. Still, the kindergartener I read it to enjoyed it and the art was cute!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all the books by David McPhail!

[K Morlando · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Read to a 3 year old class, they loved it.

[Kira Boonyea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it because I liked when he painted people at the end and I also liked when they were cooking doing all kinds of chores, their job, and that’s what they do. I like it.
S, age 7.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story of finding your special skill.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just purchased this book from a local bookstore and it brought back so many memories. This was one of my favorite books as a kid and I felt very nostalgic reading it again. <3

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know this book is supposed to teach kids that we all have something we're good at, some reason to be special, but it fell flat for me. I think what bothered me was that by the time the mc found his talent, it required no work. He was just magically a great artist without lessons, without effort, without anything. That just seems like a silly lesson to teach kids.

[Allison Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Everyone in Sam's family could do something special. Everyone but Sam." What do you do when your older sister is a piano protege, and your older brother is a whiz on the computer? Not to mention, your dad is a gifted baker and your mother can make just about anything out of wood? You need to be able to do something special. Sam is feeling a little left out of his family, because he doesn't feel he can do anything special. This picture book by David McPhail does a wonderful job of teaching kids that everyone is special in their own way, they just need to search themselves to find out what that special something is. McPhail's illustrations really make the book, portraying Sam as an adorable little racoon with all the trials and tribulations of a normal human boy. This puts a nice little twist on the story. Their being set on a white background also helps the reader focus on the character of the story, which is really important for such a character driven plot. The author's general use of simple sentences also seem to emphasize the simplicity of being oneself, how everyone can be special if they simply take the time to look for it. This book is perfect for any child who may be feeling a bit down about themselves, or any child really, because every child feels like this at some point in their lives.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Awards: n/a

Summary:
This is a book about a raccoon named same who had a talented family. Sam, too, wanted a special talent and was determined to find it. It took many attempts at different things to discover his own, very special talent.

Prompt Questions:
What do you think this book will be about?
What genre do you think this book is and why?
What special talent do you have?
Do you think Sam will be able to find his special talent? What do you think it will be?

Critique:
I think this is a cute book that could be used in a classroom to teach students/ children that not everyone is good at the same thing. Then, the story could be tied into teaching them how some may have a difficult time with math, or writing, while others may find it easy. Overall, the story was cute, but I wanted a little more depth to it.

Activity:
Writing Prompt: Students will write about a things they are not so good at and explain how they found their special talent.

[J.]

AR 2.2 but we thought it was 3.0

Jane failed the test because they had the book labeled with the wrong “Something Special” book. She got 1/5 on a book she didn’t read. Teacher deactivated test when I pointed this out.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will help young children understand it's okay that they haven't found what they are 'good' at yet. Because eventually they will. Sam saw all his family members even his dog do something special, cook, play music, play sports etc. But he felt he couldn't do anything... but in the end he did find his special thing.

[Maggie Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Special is about a boy named Sam who feels like he can't do anything even his dog can do something special. He goes through trails to find his specail trait. This book will be good to use for a morning meeting in the classroom especailly at the beginning of the school year to discuss to students that everyone has a special trait.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story. We thought it suggested that you should be good at something the first time you try it, otherwise why bother. It did not espouse stuck-to-it-ive-ness, hard work, practice, or patience. However, we did like the idea that each person ends up with their own special skills and talents.

[Jazmin Palma]

Everyone is special and unique. I would use this book as an hook to get the children talking about one special thing they can do. I would set up like a mini talent show where the children can demonstrate something special about them or something special or unique they can do.

[Rose]

E McP

[Bridget]

On the hardcover shelf.