Martha the Blue Sheep by Gabrielle Yetter, Daro Sam, and Monnyreak Ket (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

May 2017, Createspace, 48 pages, Ebook, Review copy, 

Book summary

When an accident made Martha's coat blue, her world turned upside down. She was no longer like the rest of the flock. She stood out and she didn't like it. She wanted to fit in. But a series of surprising events and the help of an unexpected friend showed Martha that being different could be a blessing, not a curse

Nayu's thoughts

The moment I saw Martha I fell in love with her because she is cute. I was captivated by the illustrations, which are by two Cambodian artists who Gabrielle met while staying there.

Thanks to reading Martha's story I learnt Martha is very kind. I felt sad when she ended up blue, as she was desperate to fit in with everyone else. Yet that's why I love her, because most people at some point in their lives, sometimes their whole lives, has something that is a bit different to other people. Martha encourages readers to see differences in a positive light-without her being bright blue the happy ending would have been more tragic. 

Martha learns not to judge others by their appearance or reputation, you should discover what people are like for yourself (unless they are a known criminal). I'm going to be rereading this any time I need a pick me up-the determination in Martha's face made me a little teary when she saves the day. I love this style of illustration, with the further away animals and objects being less detailed. Some of the distant sheep made me laugh because they looked like Japanese onigiri (rice balsl) with a touch of seaweed in the centre! 

Discover more about Gabrielle's Cambodian adventures on her website.

Suggested read 

Another character who learns to be proud of their differences is Teddy in Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton and Dougal MacPherson (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)