Something Beautiful

by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrator)

An inspiring story that reminds us that beauty is everywhere.

Can a city be beautiful if there's trash on the streets and graffiti on the walls? A little girl finds out when her teacher writes the word "beautiful" on the blackboard and the girl decides to look for beauty in her neighborhood.

There's the “beautiful” fried fish sandwich at Miss Delphine diner, Mr. Lee’s “beautiful” fruit store, and the “beautiful” smooth stone Old Mr. Sims always carries. The girl soon understands that beautiful means “that when you have it, your heart is happy.” Young readers will enjoy appreciating the beauty of friendship and the power of hope in this encouraging story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Cultural, African American, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Beata Malinowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw the cover of „Something Beautiful” written by Sharon Dennis Wyeth I expected a picture book mainly focused on the theme of racism; presenting a girl teased for looking different than the other kids. However, I was surprised to read a story that touches on themes such as poverty, homelessness and community responsibility. Sharon Dennis Wyeth allows the reader to enter the world as seen through the eyes of a little girl; the girl who very often seems to notice more than the adults around her. This picture book shows that no matter where we all live, we can always find ‘something beautiful’; even the most unlikely places, things, aspects of life may bring us happiness. All in fact depends on our attitude towards others, and willingness to change our life, to take action even if nobody wants to help us.

[Evan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if the beholder does not know what beauty is, then how can he/she know what beauty is? This is the dilemma a little girl in a urban society must answer in Something Beautiful. When she wakes up all she sees is broken glass, garbage, homeless people living on the streets and the word “die” painted on the door of the apartment building she lives in. She passes all of this on the way to school everyday, but on this day something special and unique happens to her in class. On this specific day she is introduced to the word beautiful which she defines as “something that when you have it, your heart is happy”. Her only problem is that it seems as in her community it is hard for her to find something to call beautiful.
I enjoyed how this book makes you feel as though you are a child also looking for what is beautiful to you. When I began reading this book I thought it would be about a girl being told that she was ugly and having to interact with other people who would tell her how beautiful she really is, but it is not that type of book. In this book, the little girl is looking for beauty outside of herself in her community that is characterized by garbage, broken glass and homeless people. As she goes through her community asking people what is beautiful to them, I found myself evaluating what I find beautiful and what makes those things beautiful to me. Not only is the story great, but the illustrations within the book make you feel as though you are walking through the community with the little girl. This book helps teach children in urban societies that no matter where you live, there is always something beautiful and if you can not find beauty you must create it for yourself and for those who will come after you. This book not only makes reader form their own definition of what is beautiful, but it inspires them to go around their communities to make them beautiful.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this book teaches readers to find beauty in all they behold.

[Kaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my cohort for graduate school- we loved it! The book causes you to think critically about the different perspectives or definitions your students(if you're an educator), your child(if you're a parent), a kid in general could have about the word "beautiful". Challenge children to think critically of different definitions for multiple words after they read this book.

[Agnė · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist of Something Beautiful, a young Black girl, searches for "something beautiful" in her inner-city neighborhood, which is full of litter, hateful graffiti, dangerous alleys, and homeless people. The ultimate massage this picturebook delivers is heartwarming and uplifting: beauty can be found in the most unexpected places and it is up to us to find — or to create — something beautiful, “something that when you have it, your heart is happy,” wherever we live.

Yet the best part of Something Beautiful is Chris K. Soentpiet's photorealistic illustrations, in which the illustrator masterfully plays with light and shadow so that the readers can almost feel the sunlight on their own skins:




I only wish that some of the illustrations were more dynamic, like the one in which the accompanying text suggests that the girl “pass[es]” a homeless lady but the illustration depicts her standing still with her feet together.

[Klaudia Maniakowska · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I found extremely interesting is my initial reaction to the book’s cover. After my first glance at the title and the cute smiling black girl, I thought that the book is going to refer to the 1960s cultural movement “Black is beautiful”. I expected that the story, using the child as an appealing example, would try to convince its readers that dark skin color, frizzy hair, and facial features of black people are inherently beautiful. Unsurprisingly, after reading the book did I realize that the message of it is, in fact, a counter-reaction to the assumptions of the 1960s movement. Basically saying, black is beautiful just as brown, yellow and white. But the most beautiful thing is not something physical, but something imperceptible, something that one have inside, something that is independent from one’s skin color.

[Ariel Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a work of realistic fiction, telling the story of a black girl living in a bad part of town. She sees trash outside her home, graffiti on the walls, a woman who is homeless on the street and there are parts of the neighborhood her mother cautions her to never visit. The girl reflects to her mother saying that everyone needs something beautiful but all she can see is ugly. The next day in class her (Black) teacher suggests that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So she sets about asking everyone she knows what their something beautiful is. Suddenly she starts to see her environment in a new light. She begins to focus on the beautiful things in her life and others' lives instead of the ugly. When she goes home she feels inspired enough to clean up around her home to reflect how she sees her neighborhood.

Simply put, we need more books like this. This little girl finds value in a place that people are often taught have no value. It usually takes people from the hood to understand that there's beauty in the hood and that beauty is more than manicured lawns and big houses. I think that this book validates those experiences and gives an insider view that people from middle class and upper class strata don't get. It also puts a face on poverty that is not pitiful--just real. I really enjoyed the diversity in ages and ethnic background of the characters who appeared in the story. I like this book most for grades 3-5.

[Lana Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If beauty is found in the eye of the beholder, then we all have responsibility for creating our own something beautiful. This book may be short and simple, but it speaks volumes. This little girl teaches us that beauty is something we feel, and make. She exposes us to real-life challenges faced in urban environments, such as homelessness, crime and poverty, and then shows us that beauty lives there too. Every elementary classroom needs this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful - be ready to discuss it with your child. And don't skip the author's note at the end. Of course the climax is telegraphed, but there's a lot more to the book than just that.

[Deming McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Sharon Dennis Wyeth really does an epic job here at portraying the confusion a child has while looking at and interpreting the world around them. Often times kids have such a literal interpretation of what they see and the vocabulary they are presented with, but Wyeth takes you on a journey of a girl discovering all the things beautiful can be. I loved how Wyeth uses a simple phrase and the altering views of an urban neighborhood to make strong social points about what and in turn how some children might be seeing their differing and ever-changing worlds. The girl within the story is extremely curious and is on the hunt for a true example of "something beautiful" only to find discovering and turning something beautiful is in the eyes of the beholder.

For me personally, this book made me go "WOW" because I feel it gives such an approachable, positive spin on hard topics teachers are often faced with discussing with their students. While the neighborhood the girl lives in is not in the best condition the other children and adults surrounding her can see passed and look for the good in life. To me, this is such a powerful lesson to teach students. Not only can they find "their something beautiful" they always have opportunities and the power to change situations within their communities that dismantle a possibility of "something beautiful." It also helps students to realize that no matter what they are someone's "something beautiful," which many students need to hear.

In terms of uses in class, I think this would be an effective text for many purposes. In upper elementary grades, I used it to teach a lesson on discovering the author's purpose, what is the author trying to communicate to us as readers. With this lesson, I used the "again and again" strategy. While Wyeth was definitely trying to communicate a purpose to us through her use of the phrase "something beautiful" she also had repeated themes, which when used in upper grades help students learn to use this strategy not only in terms of the obviously stated. It could also be used across the elementary grades as a read-aloud to teach a lesson on being positive and that even small work within our own communities can make a huge impact and difference. In a class I took we talk about social justice and its context within schools, this text is a great way to help students become more conscious about the society they are living within and becoming advocates for a better world.

[Kiara Change · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a young girl who sees her neighborhood as ugly. The part of town that she lives in is on the "rough" side. One day, her teacher writes the word "beautiful" on the board. She asked the students to go out and look for things that are beautiful. From that point on, the little girl began to look at things in a more positive way. I adore this book because it is so relatable. There will be students who have a hard time processing certain things, but the teacher did a great job of challenging the students to go find things instead of telling them how things were or should be.

[Tiffany Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something Beautiful was a very sweet book. It has a wonderful concept to it but I was alittle disappointed that the girl never found her something beautiful. She searched all around and asked everyone about their something beautiful but didnt find her own. I think it would have been better if she would have found something of her own to call beautiful.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a young girl tries to find something beautiful in her neighborhood, she decides to go out and make her own beauty. Would be a great book to pair with Last Stop on Market Street.

[Jithya · Rating 4 out of 5]

In life, everyone needs something to be happy, something beautiful. How you think about things and if they are beautiful is how many things may seem beautiful to you. In the story “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth. The girl goes on a journey to find something beautiful. The story shows us that we should always think about the good things in life. This is shown when she sees a lady without a home, thinking of planting flowers her courtyard, and think a piece of broken glass looks like fallen stars.
Something beautiful teaches us to always think about the good things in life. This is true when the girl sees a lady whose home is a cardboard carton. When this lady first comes to the story is seems the girl feels pity for her. The main character thinks this is a tragedy, and she tries her best to go through the obstacles and think about the good things about this lady. People don’t need to feel pity for her they just need to think about what they can do. Keeping this in mind, she continues to look for something beautiful. Later, nearing the end she thinks why don’t I give a home to her. This is important because it shows the girl can think about good things. According to the text, “I will give a real home and a real bed to the lady who sleeps in a cardboard carton. This shows how if you are not always thinking about the bad things it makes you feel less pity and helpless because that is what the girl did and she seems to be very happy.
The story teaches us to always think about the good things in life. This is true when the girl thinks of planting flowers in her courtyard. When she comes to her courtyard most people would think it’s so boring because it dosn’t have any flowers, but the girl only thinks about the good things I can plant flowers. Thump, thump, thump goes the foot of the main character looking for something beautiful. She realises she can plant flowers in her courtyard one day and show her friends. The text states, “someday i’ll plant flowers in my courtyard. I’ll invite all my friends to see. This proves that she is always thinking about good things and not just once and a while because it makes her happy and it makes her feel strong. This also shows how people can make things beautiful instead of being lazy and complaining they didn’t have anything beautiful.
The story something beautiful teaches us to always think about the good things in life. This is true when the main character thinks a broken bottle looks like fallen stars. Most people would think it is something that can hurt you instead of thinking it is beautiful. They would think it is a piece of junk. The front of her house is full of trash one would say, they would refer it as a dumpster. But very few people would think a piece of broken glass looks like fallen stars. This is true because it is a piece of junk but if you examine it more you can see that it is beautiful. The evidence that proves this is, “A broken bottle that looks like fallen stars” This shows that since the girl examined it she found how it is beautiful. This shows how people can make a piece of waste into something beautiful.
Little, big, normal, young, old, everyone needs something beautiful. It can be as simple as a rock or something very big like a person, but it is beautiful. I think everyone should always think about the good things in life, this is shown in the story, “ Something Beautiful”. This is shown when the main character meets the lady who lives in a cardboard carton, see’s the beauty in her courtyard even though it dosn’t have flowers, and when she sees a broken bottle which to her looks like fallen stares.

[Sanatan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In life, you might have to keep trying to do something until you finally do it. The book Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth features a girl who always tries to find something beautiful. This girl is persistent. Her persistence is shown when she looks for something beautiful, when she asks what is beautiful for others, and when she makes her surroundings beautiful.
One way the main character shows her perseverance is by exploring her surroundings to find something beautiful. She finds nothing, but she keeps hunting. The girl sits, looking out of her window. Her neighbor dumps three cans brimming with trash. Right that moment, a stray dog knocks a glass bottle that shatters when it hits the surface. Outside, the word “Die” is inscribed on a door, a homeless lady resides in a cardboard box, and rickety apartment buildings fall apart. The girl is disappointed, for there is nothing pretty. She walks past a dark and menacing alley that ends near a courtyard with no flowers. They aren’t beautiful to her. Even after that, the girl walks with her eyes peeled for something beautiful. This means that she’ll never stop trying to solve her problem of not having something beautiful in her surroundings, and she will do this by always searching. Afterwards, she still feels like searching for something pretty. The text says, “Where is my something beautiful?” This means she still wants to look and didn’t give up. She does exactly that…
Another way the girl shows her stamina is by asking what exactly is beautiful for other people in the hopes of finding her own “something beautiful.” The girl asks her friends what is beautiful. They all answer, disclosing what is beautiful to them by exhibiting what is dear to them. Farther away, Mr. Sims shows his beautiful and smooth stone. Mr. Lee believes his store is beautiful, but Aunt Carolyn is fond of her baby’s laugh. That just goes to say, the girl will never yield until she finds a solution to her problem of not knowing what’s beautiful for her. Wherever she is going, she is always looking for something beautiful. When she goes to the diner, she says, “‘I’m looking for something beautiful.’” Later, she asks her friends, “‘Do you have something beautiful?’” Near Aunt Carolyn, she utters, “‘I’m looking for something beautiful.’” This is more evidence of her tenacity because she is always keeping her eyes peeled for something beautiful. However, she goes back to her neighborhood to search…

Last but not least, once the girl understands what something beautiful is, she tries to make her neighborhood gorgeous. There is a girl who looks all around herself. An uninteresting wall presents itself and garbage is seen in her backyard. The word “Die” is sitting on a door. The girl doesn’t admire it. Consequently, she steals the trash and the broken bottle with a broom. Water washes away the graffiti, and the sponge catches the water as though they were both circus acrobats. The girl is now smiling, for her house is now prettier. This is an indicator that the girl will never quit trying to make her neighborhood pretty. Once she cleans the house, the text says, “Someday I will plant flowers … I will give a real home and a real bed to the lady who sleeps in a cardboard carton.” All of this shows that the girl is intent on continuing to clean her neighborhood. She will never stop making her neighborhood beautiful.

The main character in Something Beautiful is tenacious. She never stops looking for something elegant. In life, why should you give up if being unyielding will benefit you?

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

In life, sometimes we only focus on what’s bad and refuse to keep looking. What is interesting is that we don’t know that we are so close and we only have to look just a little further until we find that beautiful thing in our life. In the story “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, a little girl ,who’s name we don’t know, does in fact understand this, but in fact takes it just a little too far and starts searching her whole town for something beautiful until she realizes and decides she can make things beautiful herself. The story teaches us to be persistent and persevere. This is shown when the girl searches the diner and then the park, when she cleans her yard, and when she thinks of ways to make a homeless person's life better and beautiful again.
In the story “Something beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, us readers agree that perseverance is shown through out. This is true, for in the beginning, as she is searching, she stops at a diner and tells the waitress her problem. She gets a nice fish sandwich but it is not enough so, she continues to search. This connects to the idea because, since she is persistent, she continues and goes on! A few minutes later, she stops at the park and asks, “do you have something beautiful?” her friends tell her what they have, but she still wants more. So, instead of feeling tired already, because she perseveres, consequently, she continues on her quest. This proves that she is persistent and perseveres and will continue until she is satisfied with what she has found.
In the book “Something beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, we can agree that the intended message is that we should persevere and persist is the intended message. This is evidenced when the girl realizes she can make things beautiful herself and decides to clean her yard. The little girl sweeps up the broken glass of a bottle, picks up the trash, and scrubbs and cleans some paint off of her door. This shows that the girl is persistent and will go out of her way to make something clean and beautiful again. We all know now that this girl likes to persevere but with more proof I can convince you more, for in the book, the author has written “I pick up the trash, I sweep up the glass. I scrub the door very hard. When die disappears, I feel powerful.” this proves that, if you persevere, just the little things you do, can change your whole idea about things and gives you a feeling of accomplishment.
The little girl, who wants to do things to make things beautiful, looks around and sees a homeless old lady. She tells herself that she wants to improve her life and starts thinking of ways to do so. This shows that she will do whatever to any one around her to make the world beautiful, which proves that she is persistent. In the story we see many actions of perseverance as in the examples above, and I will introduce you to a new one! To convince you this, in the text it states, “I will give a real home and a bed to the woman who sleeps in a cardboard carton. She will sing and I will hear her song.” this is hopefully convincing you that she always sees the good in things and perseveres as well.
In “Something beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, we know that it shows that perseverance is the way to go. For the little girl is searching and doesn’t stop until she is satisfied with what she has. And now I know that I should never give up, keep going, and always persevere until I am satisfied with what I have or if know that I have what I want either in my hands or in my heart.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andra #3
Jan 29,2018
Literary Essay, Something Beautiful
The story something beautiful, By Sharon Denis Weith is about a girl that has a lot of perseverance.I think that this is true because the girl is determined to find the thing in her life that makes her happy,so she scrubs the word “die” of her door, cleans up all of the trash on her front yard, and goes around her neighborhood asking her neighbors what their something beautiful is to try and relate.These reasons convince me that the girl has a lot of perseverance.
The first reason that I think the girl has a lot of perseverance is because,the text states “I go upstairs to get a bucket of water and a sponge” “I scrub the door very hard when “die” disappears I feel powerful” I believe that this shows a lot of perseverance because seeing that the word “die” on her door discourages her she decides to erase it so that her heart can have something beautiful. This part of the text also shows something ugly can become something beautiful by change.to sum it up I think that the girl has a lot of perseverance because she scrubs the word “die” off of her own front door. So for that reason I think trying to get rid of harmful messages is a sign of perseverance because lots of people in our daily lives have started to just simply give up when hard times have started to come their way, but it highly surprised me that this girl from the book did not simply give up when she gets discouraged.
The second reason that I think that the girl from something beautiful has a lot of perseverance is because she does not give up thinking that people do not like her because they did very mean things to her like in this example throw trash on her yard. Instead the girl patiently cleans up all of the trash thinking that she will just clean up the trash and that it is okay that there is trash on her yard and that she will just clean it all up.I believe that this is a sign of perseverance because only a person who has a lot of perseverance will have done what the girl did,not give up. The reason that I think the girl cleaned up was because she was very determined to get rid of things that are ugly.(the word “die” was something ugly because it was harmful), also having perseverance is not giving up. The girl did not give up in the book.This shows perseverance because one, this is an example of working hard to earn what you truly deserve.Two,this is also helping the environment.
Most importantly,the third reason.The girl has a lot of perseverance because she is very willing and trying to find something that makes her heart happy (something beautiful)that she goes out to her neighborhood to ask her friends for their something beautiful so that she could have ideas on what her something beautiful might be.This is an example of perseverance because she was so willing to find what she wanted that she started to try to go to her friends and try to relate with their beautiful things, and when she could not relate,what surprised me was that she did not give up. The reason that surprised me was that failing to find her beautiful on her own she did not give up.
All in all,I think that the girl from the story something beautiful has a lot of perseverance because she scrubs the word “die” off of her door cleans up the trash on her yard,and goes around to find her something making her happy.these reasons convince me that the girl has a lot of perseverance.

[Esha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something Beautiful
By: Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Analyzed by:Esha Manish Jagatia

It all just started from one girl, she was thinking so much about the world here and
there.But then just like that, it hit her, the girls mom was talking said so much about of people
has something beautiful. She learned it at school. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. The girl then wrote it down in her notebook and said that it means something that when you have it, your heart is happy. But where is hers? Where can she find her beautiful? This book shows how the girl is caring, kind and helpful to the economy.

One thing the book shows is that she is caring. In the book, it shows how she is always thinking of what she can do to help people who are suffering more than her. The girl looks through her window, and she narrates, “When I look through my window, I see a brick wall. There is trash in the courtyard and a broken glass bottle that looks like fallen stars.” I would compare it to me when I was 4 years old I dropped a light bulb in the patio to pieces and I felt bad and a little embarrassed like the girl. Another thing is that she felt bad about having no flowers and yet, it's like the ugliest flowers she had right now is trash.

Another thing is that it shows how the girl is kind to others. She stays calm from events in the book that makes us different because we have usually other feelings instead of staying calm. The girl won’t burst out mad and telling other people that she does not have something beautiful or being jealous of her friends since they already found theirs. Instead, she thinks that if they find it, that's good but if she needs to find hers, she will do it. When she asks her friends their beautiful, they end up having their answers too. “I have my jumprope, said Sybil. “I have my beads.” said Rebecca. “Check out my new shoes!” said Jamal.” Even though her friends say this, the girl does not complain that she doesn’t have something beautiful. She just continues her search. This shows of how serene and kind the girl is.

Lastly, it shows how the girl is very helpful to the community. When she realises that she needs it so she will take her plan to action. She finds a bucket of water and finds a sponge, and gets to work right away. She scrubs the word DIE from her door and cleans the windows and finally cleans the trash and the broken bottle. She then feels powerful from what she did to the environment. Then, she thinks of helpful things she can also do that she should accomplish to make her happy. Then she finally thought of the homeless lady. The lady was homeless and had barely anything. In the book, the girl thinks,“Where I walk, I pass a lady whose home is a big cardboard carton. She sleeps on the sidewalk, wrapped in plastic.” This quote shows that she and the girl might be discriminated by their skin color and disrespected or segregated.

At the end, she finds then that she is actually something beautiful to her mom. As mom comes back from work the girl then ask her something that makes the girl feel special herself. As a matter of fact, this girl was happy. She now knows what is finally her beautiful to her, she also knows that her beautiful is like a guardian and the key to happiness. After I read the book, I realized that everyone has something beautiful and you will find them in different ways.

[Kshitij · Rating 5 out of 5]

In life, there are many things that are true, but you never know or believe it. In “Something Beautiful,” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, all the life of a girl, she is the something beautiful that her mother had always had, but she never knew it. The girl learns that everything that you see or believe is something beautiful. This is shown when the girl goes around to ask what their something beautiful so she can find hers, when she plans what it is, and most importantly, when she thinks what it means.
The girl learns that everything that you see or believe is something beautiful. This is shown when the girl goes around to ask what their something beautiful so she can find hers. In the middle of the story, characters see that the girl goes around to her friends to ask. The text states, “‘do you have something beautiful?’ I ask.
‘I have my jump rope,’ says Sybil.
‘I have my beads,’ says Rebecca.
‘Check out my new shoes’ says Jamal.” This shows some ways that she can find her something beautiful. Another time, the character goes through her neighborhood and sees their something beautiful. The girl, in the end turns out to be her mother’s something beautiful.
The girl learns that everything that you see or believe is something beautiful. This is shown when she plans what it is. In the end, the readers can see that the girl is planning it in her mind. The author clarifies this when, “Someday I’ll plant flowers in my courtyard. I’ll give a real home and a real bed to the lady who sleeps in a cardboard carton. She will sing and I will hear her song.” This is after when the girl has cleaned her apartment’s courtyard (her cortyard). The girl before the planning had cleaned her courtyard. She did this in the order of picking the trash, sweepping the pieces of the broken bottle, and, finally, taking a sponge with a bucket of water to erase the word, “Die” that was engraved on the door by someone who had used to live in the same building. The word was written with blood, just above the doorknob. She felt a strange feeling that when “Die” dissapeared she felt powerful. That feeling was confidence. Confidence that you might never lose.
The girl learns that everything that you see or believe is something beautiful. Most importantly, when she thinks what it means. Even though she couldn’t find her something beautiful, she still thought what the word means. In the text, the author states, “The teacher taught me the word in school. I wrote it in my book. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. I think it means: something that when you have it, your heart is happy.” This is showing that no matter where you are, or where you’ve been, you alwys keep the word in mind when it comes to looking/sightseeing outside.
The life around you, take participation in it. Because any moment, the time you’re snatched away from the world, you will never be able to see that sight in your next life. So please take your time in the life or area your in and enjoy that moment because you might never see it again. The girl learns that everything that you see or believe is something beautiful. This is shown when the girl goes around to ask what their something beautiful so she can find hers, when she plans what it is, and most importantly, when she thinks what it means.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In life, people always have questions about small things. In “Something Beautiful,” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth is about a little girl who is trying to find if she has something beautiful, so she takes a walk and asks people what their something beautiful is, so she can find hers. “Something Beautiful,” teaches us that everyone and everything has beauty. This is shown when the little girl thinks something broken can be very beautiful, another thing is the little girl thinks of things she can make beautiful, and most importantly the story shows this when the little girl thinks of helping people. This is true for the things the little girl wants to make beautiful, the people the little girl wants to help, and most importantly this is shown for the little girl.
The story “Something Beautiful,” teaches us that everyone and everything has beauty. This is shown, when the little girl thinks “broken glass looks like fallen stars.” This shows that even something so plain and is shattered into little pieces can look like something so beautiful like fallen stars.
Another way the story shows that everything and everyone has beauty, is when the little girl thinks of things she can make beautiful. The little girl went around asking people if they had something beautiful. They all said something. Once the little girl got home she was picturing in her mind what she can do to make her courtyard beautiful. In the story it says, “ I picked up the trash, I sweep up the glass, I scrub the door very hard.” “When Die disappears I feel powerful.” “Someday I’ll plant flowers in my courtyard, I’ll invite all my friends to see.” This shows, that the little girl is thinking happy thoughts, and making anything that doesn’t look so beautiful beautiful.
Most importantly the story shows that everyone and everything has beauty, is when the little girl thinks of helping people. At the beginning of the story, when the little was taking a walk she saw a lady “whoms home is a big cardboard carton.” They lady sleeps on the sidewalk, wrapped in plastic. At the end of the story when the little girl thinks of making things beautiful, she thinks of the lady and this is what she says, “ Someday I will give a real bed to the lady who sleeps in a cardboard carton,” “ She will sing and I will hear her song!” This shows, that everyone can think of beautiful things because she wants to help they lady and hear her beautiful gift and that’s singing.
As you can see, the little girl in “ Something Beautiful,” learns that everyone and everything has beauty. From now on, when someone needs help or has a question even if it’s a small question also help them, because they might be trying to find something. For example in “ Something Beautiful,” the little girl was trying to find her something beautiful so she was asking people what their something beautiful was, so she could fine hers. In this story it teaches me and maybe other people too that not only do people have something beautiful but non living things do too. For example the little girl thinks broken glass looks like fallen stars. I hope you enjoyed my story!

[Smera · Rating 3 out of 5]

A watch, a vase, a friend, a relative, an animal. Everyone should have their something beautiful. In the short story, “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, a little girl, goes around town,asking people what their something beautiful is. She received many different answers. I think that “Something Beautiful” explains the fact that there isn’t just an interpretation of the word “beautiful”. There are many. Two of them are a thing such as a rock, or a jump rope, and something inside you, your qualities or personality.

The word “beautiful” can be interpreted as an object. Somewhat in the beginning of the story, the girl goes to Mrs. Delphine’s Diner to find out what her something beautiful is. A fried Fish Sandwich. One might think, “ How can a mere fried fish sandwich be so important to someone?” For example, “ ‘I’m looking for something beautiful,’ I tell her.” Responding to her, Mrs. Delphine said, “There’s nothing more beautiful tasting than my fried fish sandwich.” This provides the clear cut proof for the fact that Mrs. Delphine finds a sandwich her something beautiful. This lady finds her something beautiful, her delicacy, the taste of her hand made fried fish sandwich.

Many people say, “It doesn’t matter what’s outside. What matters, is in the inside.” The same example is displayed in the book. One’s qualities, can also be their something beautiful. At the very end of the story, readers find out that the little girl finds her something beautiful. The little girl was very determined to make her courtyard clean, tidy, and beautiful. She is also very determined to clean out the work DIE, written on the door of her house. The text explain this by including, “ I pick up the trash. I sweep up the grass. I scrub the door very hard. When DIE disappears, I feel powerful.” This connects to the idea that the word “beautiful” can be interpreted in many ways. This little girl’s determination, or feeling of powerful can be her something beautiful, perhaps.
Some people might think that they don’t have a something beautiful. But the truth is, that they just don’t realize what it is. They might not realize it probably because there are many interpretations of beautiful. Here 2 types are mentioned. They are a thing, or a quality. It think that everybody should and does have their something beautiful. What is your something beautiful?

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[Isha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isha Jain
1/23/17
Literary Essay
“Something Beautiful”
By: Sharon Dennis Wyeth

What do you think the word beautiful means? The short story “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth answers that question. You might think of things like your favorite color such as turquoise or maybe beautiful people, like your mother. Those are just some of the beautiful things or people in the world, but the word beautiful doesn’t only have one definition. It doesn’t only have to be your favorite color or people. It can be food, sound, and most importantly, your inner beauty.

This is shown by fried fish sandwiches in Miss Delphine’s Diner. In the beginning of the story, the girl visited Miss Delphine. There she had said, “I’m looking for something beautiful.” Miss Delphine brings out a fried fish sandwich. She said, “ There is nothing more beautiful tasting than my fried fish sandwiches.” This shows that many things can be beautiful. It can be food.

This is also shown by her Aunt Carolyn’s baby’s laugh. In the middle of the story, the little girl again says, “I’m looking for something beautiful,” but this time to her Aunt Carolyn. She answers, “My baby’s laugh is something beautiful.” The girl tickles Carl (the baby) and they giggle. She realizes that lots of things can be beautiful. It can be a sound.

Most importantly beauty is inside you. At the end of the story, the girl asks her mother, “Do you have something beautiful?” Her mother replies, “Of course. I have you.” This provides further proof that the word beautiful doesn’t only have one definition. It can be something, like food, a sound , and more. But most importantly, beauty is inside you. All of this supports that the word beautiful doesn’t only have one definition.

In my opinion, the short story “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth is about that the word beautiful doesn't only have one definition. It can be food, a sound, and most importantly, your own inner beauty. Beautiful things are around you.

[Dharshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes in the world there can be bad people who destroy the world easily. But it is to hard to make the world beautiful.In the story Something beautiful by Sharon.Dennis.Wyeth says that the girl will search for something beautiful and make the world beautiful



When I look through my window, I see a Brick wall.There is a trash in my courtyard and a broken bottle that like fallen stars there’s a writing the halls of my building,on my front door, I see word die. In this paragraph the author is trying to say That this shows that there are bad things and destroyed things which is not beautiful.



My mommy said that everyone should have something beautiful in their lives .The teacher taught me the word in school.I wrote it in my book.I wrote on my in my book.B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.I Think it means something that is good when you have it in your heart.I go to miss Delphine’s diner.Hi there, “sugar pie”, says miss Delphine “what are you up to?” ,“I’m looking for something beautiful,” I tell her. In this paragraph the author states that the girl searches for something beautiful .




I go back home and sit down on my stoop.I look at the trash in my courtyard.I see word die on my door.I go up stairs and get broom and a sponge and some water .I pick up trash. I sweep up the glass. I scrub the very hard.I will invite my friends to my house I will give a real bed to the lady who sleeps in the carton cardboard.she will sing and I will hear. In this paragraph the states that the helped other people and made them beautiful.


At last at something beautiful by Sharon.Dennis.Wyeth says that the bad people destroy the world easily but at she searches for something beautiful and make the world beautiful this is true for the girl and others.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth talks about a girl and

how she takes action and has perseverance. One reason is that she is willing to ask

people about how their “something beautiful” looks and feels like. Secondly, she

starts cleaning her backyard (which is fully trashed) and feels powerful. Most

importantly she erases the word DIE of her door. She feels more powerful than ever

now. All these things prove that she does have a lot of perseverance.

In the beginning, the girl is willing to ask people about their “something beautiful” and

is brave enough to tell them that she doesn’t have a something beautiful and is trying

to look for help to find it. This shows there is perseverance and braveness, and the

girl could handle it. Her friends’ ideas of something beautiful was “ I have my jump

rope” Another example would be “ I have my beads” “Check out my new shoes” and “

My fruit store is one beautiful thing.”

Additionally she cleans her backyard, which is messily trashed, and that makes

her feel happy and found her something beautiful in her life. In the text it says, “ I

think something beautiful is something that makes your heart happy” The girl looks

back to what she has been through. I think one amazing quote is “Touch this smooth

stone.” All these years, I have carried it in my pocket”. I think the girl was surprised

because even a rock can be that special.

The last and final reason is when she erases the word DIE one her door, that

takes a lot perseverance and she definitely feels powerful in text it states “I scrub the

door very hard, and when DIE disappears, I feel powerful”. In this moment the girl

feels powerful and not sad and had finally found her something beautiful, even if it is

not an object.








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[Jinyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Beautiful
In life, it’s important to do good deeds to others. In the short story “Something Beautiful” by Dennis Wyeth, the girl tries to find something that makes her feel cheerful by asking others what makes them cheerful. The girl shows that it is important to do good deeds to others when she reminds others of their something beautiful when she said she will give the homeless lady a home, and most of all when she cleaned her courtyard.
First of all, our main character shows that it is important to do good deeds when she reminded others of their happiness. When the girl asked Mr. Lee what his something beautiful was, he replied: “My fruit store is one beautiful store.”She told him “You do have nice apples”. It is important to remind others of their joyfulness because when it goes bad, you don't think it is beautiful.
Another reason is when she says she will provide the homeless lady a home. “Where I walk I see a lady who sleeps in a big cardboard carton. She sleeps on the sidewalk wrapped in plastic.” This reminds me of the time I went to San Francisco and saw homeless people. She says she will give that homeless lady a home. This shows that good deeds can help others.
Most importantly, she cleans her courtyard and scrubs the word DIE off her door. She sweeps the trash out of her courtyard and she says she will plant flowers in it. The author says that “When Die disappears, I feel powerful”. This reminds me of the time I cleaned my room, at first the desk was piled up so much I couldn’t do any work on it. After I cleaned it up, I felt more comfortable and I could do homework on it.
As you see, our main character in Something Beautiful learns that doing good deeds to others can make a difference. From now on, I will do good deeds to others by giving a dollar to every homeless person I see. Sometimes, others might just need some more joy in life.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something Beautiful .
1/29/18



One day, a little girl wanted to find something beautiful. So,she went outside and thought on her front steps, trying to find her “something beautiful”. In “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, the girl saw a dirty, hopeless environment and wanted to make a difference. So, she asked people what their “something beautiful” is.

She started by asking her friends if they have something beautiful. According to Sybil, a character in the story, her beautiful is a “jump rope.” Rebecca states, “I have my beads.” Jamal has “new shoes.”

Next, she went to her neighborhood friends who said they have their beautiful. Miss Delphine, the diner owner, says she has her own beautiful. The text states, “There’s nothing more beautiful than tasting my fried fish sandwich.” Mr. Lee stated that his something beautiful is his fruit store. According to old Mr. Sims, his beautiful is a “smooth stone”.

Last, family members had a something beautiful. Aunt Carolyn stated, “My baby’s laugh is something beautiful.” According to the girl’s mom, her beautiful is the girl. She stated, “I have you.”

As you can see, everybody in the neighborhood has their “beautiful.” The girl saw a hopeless, dirty environment and wanted to clean it up. She wanted to help the homeless lady have a home and a bed. She did clean the trash and wash the graffiti off the building door. I have learned that I can make a difference by picking up trash and throwing it away and respecting property by keeping it clean. It’s important and definitely possible to make something beautiful out of anything that is disgusting or ugly to make a very special “something beautiful”.

[Nimisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

In life, we think about what we can get, especially if you are a kid . We always need to be observant around us, but you will never know what will you discover in life if you are too observant. In the short story, “ Something Beautiful’’ by Sharon Dennis Wyeth explains if you do something for yourself, it will get to what you need. In the beginning, she goes around asking about the secret of beauty, but in the end , she makes up for herself


In the story,she goes around asking about the secret of beauty. She wants to know if anything can seem beautiful to her.For example, in the text, it says” The teacher taught me the word in school . I wrote in my book,B E A U T I F U L, which means : something that you have, your heart is happy.’’ This supports the idea because it explains what she is trying to have and that will make her heart happy. In order for this to happen , she is asking everyone what they think is beautiful to them that might be beautiful to her.I like her strategy, but maybe she can try something else.


But later on, she make up for herself. She was walking on the street thinking what can be beautiful, before she realize what to do. According to the text “ I brought out a bucket and a sponge. I picked up the trash on the courtyard. I washed up the word DIE off my door. When it was gone, I felt powerful.’’ This states this quote because she is helping herself to make her happy in the inside and it said that she felt powerful when she did all that. It made her heart happy



In the story “`Something Beautiful”, she changes to think more about what she can do to get that something beautiful. It shows to always think about what you can do so it can happen. This story shows me how I can do it to accomplish of what I want

[Gyuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you think that “something beautiful” means? You would think pretty things on the outside but, this short story called “Something Beautiful” thinks that it means something that makes you happy. This story is about a girl trying to find her something beautiful by asking other people for examples. I think this story shows that something beautiful has many meanings, like your qualities and personalities that you have.

One reason this story shows that there is lots of meaning of beautiful is your qualities. For example in the story the author said, “I have my jump rope.” This shows that quality means something beautiful because her jump rope is has many qualities that makes it special to Sybil. Also in the story it says, “ There’s nothing more beautiful tasting than my fried fish sandwiches.” This shows that Miss Delphine’s sandwich is beautiful because it’s qualities are that it is tasty.

Another reason this story shows that there is different meaning of beautiful like your personality. She is cleaning around her house. and dreaming to plant flowers and inviting her friends to see. In the article it saids, “I will give her a real home to the lady who sleeps in a cardboard carton” This shows that the little girl’s something beautiful is also her personality by how she is thinking to help the people in need.

In conclusion, this “Something Beautiful” shows that there is many meanings to beautiful like someone’s qualities and personalities. This story showed me that from now on I won’t judge someone by their looks but their inner self. Maybe they just need to find their something beautiful.

[Abhiansh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literary Analysis Of Something Beautiful
In the potboiler, “Something Beautiful,” a girl finds her beautiful by persevering, helping her neighborhood, and redefining what to her, beautiful means. She does this by asking people what their beautiful is so that she gets ideas about how she should find her beautiful and redefining “her beautiful.” She shows helpfulness by cleaning her neighborhood, and her home so that she feels good.
In the Story Something Beautiful, a girl shows perseverance, by asking people about their beautiful so that she could find her own beautiful. This shows perseverance, because she asked over 10 people, traveling over foot all over her small city. This may take a long time and a lot of effort, as well as perseverance. Also doing this will help her redefine what beautiful means to her. You may think that asking people just for her needs is useless. According to the author, she does this to show that the girl asked people so that she could also remind people about their beautiful.
In addition, she shows helpfulness by cleaning her neighborhood. There are days when I am feeling blue and have nothing to do. My sister and I clean our neighborhood. This makes us proud and takes up a lot of time. Not only that, it makes us feel better too. After asking all her friends, she cleaned her neighborhood because, in my understanding, she did because it made her feel content and felt that, that was her beautiful. This shows helpfulness because she cleaned her neighborhood, even if it was not hers. She cleaned the word “DIE,” of her door, which someone had painted. She also thought about giving the homeless person and giving a real bed and house (even though she did not do it in the story, she still thought about it). All this shows helpfulness.
Last and most supremely , she redefines her beautiful and the meaning of beautiful in her mind. All this happened because she persevered to find her beautiful by asking people and showing helpfulness by cleaning her neighborhood. She had a lot of aspiration to redefine her meaning of beautiful so that it makes her heart content. After her querying, to her,beautiful means “something that makes your heart happy and content.” There were times when I am down, and being in my parent lap would make me feel much better. This shows that there are many meaning of the word beautiful and there are many ways for you to find your beautiful to make your life content and “beautiful.”
For all these reasons, the Story Something Beautiful is a strong emotional story that teaches you about life and also teaches you about perseverance and helpfulness. She shows perseveres by finding her beautiful, shows helpfulness by cleaning her neighborhood, and redefines the meaning of her life and the meaning of the word beautiful. It unyielded me when the girls mother told that,“ everybody in life has something beautiful.”

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUl


SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL BY SHARON WYETH is about a girl that goes around town and ask people what is your something beautiful .she asked her friends and her neighedoor friends what is your something beautiful.
On the girls door it sase the word die on it and in her front yard it has a lot of botels and trash. When she goes to school her mom tells her to run down a dark alleyway and never look bake and when and when she is running in the alleyway their is a garden with no plants and no flower to which is weird .she is not in the alleyway she walks past a person that lives in a cardboard house and she is raround plastic that is a blanket in the girl felt bad for her she wanted to give her a big house and so she would not have to sleep on the ground.
She asked her fiends what is your something beautiful one of her friends said my jump rope is my something beautiful another one of her friends said my something beautiful is my shoes.
She goes ‍‍to mr.lee shop and then she asked what is your something beautiful mr lee. According to the story Mr Lee said my something beautiful is my fruit store is one beautiful store.
Her teachers word of the day was something beautiful. According to the text she gussed that something beautiful meant that when you have it, your heart is happy. That is why she went all around town asking her friends and neighbor what is your beautiful. When she gets home she clans all of the trash in her front yard and she clans the word die off of her door with a rage so it would come off of the door easy after everything is cleaned up her front yard looks so clan and nice. He mom come back home and then she said to her mom what is your beautiful mom her mom said my beautiful is you

[Ananya]

The world can be a sad and unhappy place if you don’t know how to search for happiness and beauty. In the story “Something Beautiful” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, a girl lives in a dirty place. Whenever she looks outside her window, she sees a brick wall, trash, and a broken bottle. Someone also wrote the word “Die” on the front door of where she lives. “Something Beautiful” teaches us that beauty is all around us, so we don’t need to search for it. This is true for the broken bottle’s shards, her friends, and most of all for the word “Die” on the front door.
“Something Beautiful” teaches us that beauty is all around us, so we don’t need to search for beauty. This is for the broken bottle’s shards. A girl lives in a dirty place. Whenever she looks out her window, she sees trash, a brick wall, and a broken bottle that looks like fallen stars to her. The girl learns the word “beautiful” in school and wants to find her something beautiful and something to make her happy. Outside, where the girl lives, she sees a broken bottle and thinks of its shards as fallen stars. This shows that she has a little happiness inside her but hasn’t realized it yet.
“Something Beautiful” teaches us that beauty is all around us, so we don’t need to search for beauty. This is for her friends. The girl goes to her friends and asks them what their something beautiful is. The girls friends tell her what their something beautiful is. The girl still goes to other people she knows and asks them what their something beautiful is so that she can find her something beautiful. She soon realizes that she doesn’t need to search for beauty because beauty is all around her. This is shown when she holds baby Carl, her Aunt’s son. When the girl tickled Carl, he laughed, wich made her laugh too. After she met with her aunt and Carl, she realized that happiness is all around her.
“Something Beautiful” teaches us that beauty is all around us, so we don’t need to search for it. This is for the word “Die” on the front door. After playing with Carl, she realized that happiness is all around her, and she doesn’t need to search for it. When when she got home, she sat on the stairs. She looked up at the word ”Die,” went upstairs to her house, got a bucket of water, a sponge, and a broom. The girl picked up the trash, sweeped up the glass, and scrubbed very hard on the word “Die”. When “Die” disappeared, she felt powerful. The girl finally realized that she doesn’t need to search for happiness and beauty.
As you can see, if you don’t know how to search for happiness and beauty, the world will seem sad and unhappy to you. If you can’t find something beautiful to make you happy, you can just look around you like the girl in the story “Something Beautiful”. If you look around you, you can find something beautiful to make you happy, you don’t just search for it. From now on, if I see someone looking sad and lonely, I will ask them what happened and why they are sad. And if I can help them, I will try my best to help them find something to make them happy or try to make them laugh.