Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton

Title: Too Tall Alice
Author: Barbara Worton
Illustrator: Dom Rodi
Publisher: Great Little Books
Publication Date: March 15, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
Age Group: Children ages 7-11

Eight year old Alice is four inches taller than any of the other girls in her class at Cherry Tree School.

Barbara Worton writes with a keen understanding of how it feels to be different. Alice begins the story with self-doubt and an intense discomfort with her height. Through a dream, Alice learns to accept herself just as she is and decides that she can do and be anything she wants. Too Tall Alice offers children who are struggling with self image a wonderful lesson of acceptance without forcing it on them.

Dom Rodi enhances the story with a variety of illustrations, large and small. The page layouts are varied with the text interspersed with the illustrations in a fashion that keeps the eyes moving. The emotions described in the text play clearly across Alice's face. Even the text itself seems to offer a personality as the font mimics handwriting and some of the words vary in size.

Too Tall Alice is an engaging story with a great message.