Why dont they

Why Don’t They Like Me?

K. Edwards and D. Edwards Illustrated By: John Sebastian Gaskin

INSIDE COVER

Why Don’t They Like Me? K. Edwards and D. Edwards Illustrated By: John Sebastian Gaskin

Copyright Printer ISBN

Table Of Contents

“Why don’t they like me?” Lisa tearfully asked her mother. “They did not even get the chance to know me.”

“Why, Mama, why? Why don’t they like me?”

Lisa’s mother was stunned. Lisa had been so excited to start at her new school; in fact, for weeks that was all she talked about. Lisa had been looking forward to meeting new friends and learning new things. Yet after her first day of school, Lisa was crying and upset.

“Lisa, who’s they?” her mother asked, as she hugged Lisa. “And whydo you think they don’t like you?” Her mother added.

“The kids in school, they laughed at me. They told me that I was different and would not fit in,” Lisa answered while tears ran down her face.

“OK, sweetie, let us sit down and talk about this,” said Lisa’s mother. Lisa sat down and wiped her tears away. She was already feeling better, just being around her mother.

“So,” asked Lisa’s mother, as she sat next to Lisa, “exactly what happened in school today?”

Lisa told her mother, “I walked into my classroom and sat in an empty seat. I looked around the class and smiled at the other kids. They did not smile back, they just continued doing what they were doing.”

“During break time, I walked over to meet a group of kids from class. I spoke to them, telling them my name is Lisa, that I was excited about making new friends and the kind of things that I like to do.”

“They looked at me and started to laugh. They said that I was different. They walked away talking about me and laughing about how I won’t fit in. I could not wait for school to finish today. I don’t ever want to go back!”

Lisa’s mother listened and was very sad that Lisa now felt this way about school and people in general. Lisa had always been friendly to and respectful of everyone she had ever met. Lisa’s mother knew that this must not change, so she thought carefully about what she would say next.

“Lisa,” her mother said, “everyone’s different. God made us that way specifically. We may look the same on the outside but each one of us is truly unique and special. Let me give you an example. We all have fingers, right? Yet, each person has his or her own set of fingerprints. Your fingerprints are different from mine, my fingerprints are different from Daddy’s and Daddy’s fingerprints are different from yours. So, we are all different.”

“And those differences make this world such a

wonderful place. Each one of us has something special that

only we can add. If we were all the same, there

would be only one kind of music to listen to, one kind of game to play and one kind of book to read. Because people are different, we have different kinds of music, games and books.”

“You will meet some kids and adults who don’t realize this fact just yet. What they do is try to make the other person feel bad because that person doesn’t look like them, doesn’t sound like them, doesn’t act like them or even like the same things that they do.”

“We have to respect the other person for who they are, even if that person doesn’t look like we do, sound like we do, act like we do or like the same things that we do.”

“Just be you! And don’t worry about fitting in. As you meet more kids, you will meet others who enjoy some of the same things that you do, even if you didn’t meet any today.”

“Always remember that you are special, to believe in yourself and to respect the other person for who they are. It’s easy to do these things when we recognize that we are all part of God’s great universe.”

Lisa sat for a while to think about what her mother had said. It made sense but it had hurt a lot when the other kids had laughed at her. Then she felt sorry for them because they were missing out on meeting some new friends, including her.

“Mama, I’m ready to go back to school tomorrow. It’s going to be great fun to meet these new friends,” Lisa said to her mother smiling. Lisa’s mother smiled back.

Everything was going to be fine.

ILLUSTRATION OF WALL WITH LIGHT THRU WINDOW

BACK COVER ILLUSTRATION OF SCHOOL AND PLAYGROUND, KIDS