Standing out physically is something many of us can probably identify with – especially for those who are “vertically challenged”. The book Short of Nothing is another amazing title from Ames Chen worth delving into for difficult issues that are tricky to raise. Short of Nothing is also illustrated by Quek Hong Shin, the same illustrator behind The Incredible Basket and The Amazing Sarong.
Short of Nothing: The Story
Short of Nothing is about Toby who has always looked different from the rest of his classmates. When he turned 10, he started withdrawing himself in response to many changes around him.
He has dwarfism, this meant shorter limbs, brittle bones and even shorter life expectancies.
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Fortunately, his teachers and friends rallied themselves around him and encouraged him in many ways.
A Parent’s Take on Short of Nothing by Ames Chen
Based on a true story, Short of Nothing is about being inclusive.
This picture book on kindness and friendships goes a long way in imparting messages on embracing differences we see around us.
Firstly, I learnt more about Dwarfism together with my children. Even though we know and have seen people with Dwarfism, we did not know that the condition includes potentially serious health issues and even a shorter life expectancy.
This was also a reminder that we often know little about what others are facing, and should refrain from judgement and unkind behaviour.
Secondly, we had the impression that the book was on the difficulties of being short. This was something we can relate to as a petite family. However, we were very much enriched by the message of our identities being way more than our physical appearance. Toby shone in many ways and we could take a leaf out of his book. Same goes for every being around us – looking past how we/others look might be the first step towards making good friends.
In spite of our differences, we can all harness one another’s strengths to become a stronger team, class and society.
I can see how anyone can identify with Toby’s experience. Everyone of us would have felt out-of-place, a low self-esteem and wanting to belong. Short of Nothing spoke up loudly and clearly about the friendships that matter and an important journey about discovering what is truly within us.
It provokes parents to ask our children how can we include others who might be different, and reaching out to those who need a little more help than others. The book can even help us with difficult conversations about bullying, name-calling, feeling lonely and making friends.
One of Us Series
Short of Nothing is the first book from “One of Us” series. The series is about embracing classmates in all their diversity. We look forward to more books in the series encouraging inclusivity.
This wholesome series, like the Invisible People series, should be included in all classroom and school libraries!
You can purchase Short of Nothing from Graceworks.
If you enjoyed this story, we think that you will enjoy this interview with author Ames Chen.
