US: The Hueys in The New Sweater
Author and Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Ages: 3+
I remember when Seth Godin's book was released, Purple Cows were very much in! Being different suddenly became a trend that was so religiously followed. Actually so much followed that suddenly, being normal became the new fashion :o).
Jokes apart, this book by Oliver Jeffers is a children's version of The Purple Cow. Only, it doesn't really talk about standing out in the business as much as saying that being different could be so much fun. And how fashion trends go from initial rejection to passive aversion to almost Swine Flu-ishly feverish copying world-wide! ( Gangnam-ishly viral, to make it sound "in trend" as of now :o))
The Hueys ( they are just plain cute - plain and cute!) are a clone-ly lot of beings: they think the same, act the same, do the same and are just the same. That was the rule of the clan - Always same to same :o).
Then comes a stir in the form of Rupert. This Huey is suddenly taken by a whim and knits himself an orange jumper ( sweater). Looking at his proud display, the Huey town goes into a state of violent shock at the eye sore. Rupert stands out like a sore thumb, didn't he know the rules of being a Huey! Tongues wag behind in disgust, baby Hueys cry looking at this aberration, Mama and Dada Hueys get plain sick, drop their things and get into little accidents just at the sight of this orange-clad anomaly.
But then Rupert's friend Gillespie thinks "Why not!" and he knits himself the same jumper. One is madness, but two different Hueys look curiously cool. Hueys start looking at the daring pair with rising admiration and start wondering "Hmm. Want that!".
And hell, no, wool(orange) breaks loose in Hueyland. Every Huey wants to be different and is busy knitting away orange jumpers. Orange jumpers jump high up in the trend so much.Each Huey thinks it is so different, so Orange and cool. Suddenly all the Hueys in town look different ( and hence, the same :o)).
All until Rupert decides to wear a Hat.
Quite rightly, Gillespie hits his head, perhaps imagining the frantic fever that is going to grip the town again to "look cool and different". The good thing about the ending is that all Hueys are shown wearing totally different outfits and being very happy about being different.
Such a wonderful story, and this is not at all the first time I am wondering if any of these books is meant only for children at all. I rather INSIST that adults get to read these books. They should really be used with older children as well as a discussion point on how fashion trends are created and more important, how it is actually quite nice to be different and original.
My boys loved the story very, very much. The best part of the book is the seemingly very simply drawings. Which means that the kids have created dozens of Hueys since the day they read this book.
I found out that you can design your own Hueys here. Something that the younger children love to do over and over.
You can get a sneak peek into the book here.
And there is a reading of the book here.
Oliver Jeffers says he was greatly influenced in childhood by Maurice Sendak's works, and in particular one of my favourite books, Where the Wild things are.
He has written many other sweet, quirky, funny and subtly touching books - Lost and Found, How to Catch a Star, This Moose belongs to Me, Stuck, Heart and the Bottle to name some.
The New Jumper. A trendsetter!
Author and Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Ages: 3+
Jokes apart, this book by Oliver Jeffers is a children's version of The Purple Cow. Only, it doesn't really talk about standing out in the business as much as saying that being different could be so much fun. And how fashion trends go from initial rejection to passive aversion to almost Swine Flu-ishly feverish copying world-wide! ( Gangnam-ishly viral, to make it sound "in trend" as of now :o))
The Hueys ( they are just plain cute - plain and cute!) are a clone-ly lot of beings: they think the same, act the same, do the same and are just the same. That was the rule of the clan - Always same to same :o).
Then comes a stir in the form of Rupert. This Huey is suddenly taken by a whim and knits himself an orange jumper ( sweater). Looking at his proud display, the Huey town goes into a state of violent shock at the eye sore. Rupert stands out like a sore thumb, didn't he know the rules of being a Huey! Tongues wag behind in disgust, baby Hueys cry looking at this aberration, Mama and Dada Hueys get plain sick, drop their things and get into little accidents just at the sight of this orange-clad anomaly.
But then Rupert's friend Gillespie thinks "Why not!" and he knits himself the same jumper. One is madness, but two different Hueys look curiously cool. Hueys start looking at the daring pair with rising admiration and start wondering "Hmm. Want that!".
And hell, no, wool(orange) breaks loose in Hueyland. Every Huey wants to be different and is busy knitting away orange jumpers. Orange jumpers jump high up in the trend so much.Each Huey thinks it is so different, so Orange and cool. Suddenly all the Hueys in town look different ( and hence, the same :o)).
All until Rupert decides to wear a Hat.
Quite rightly, Gillespie hits his head, perhaps imagining the frantic fever that is going to grip the town again to "look cool and different". The good thing about the ending is that all Hueys are shown wearing totally different outfits and being very happy about being different.
Such a wonderful story, and this is not at all the first time I am wondering if any of these books is meant only for children at all. I rather INSIST that adults get to read these books. They should really be used with older children as well as a discussion point on how fashion trends are created and more important, how it is actually quite nice to be different and original.
My boys loved the story very, very much. The best part of the book is the seemingly very simply drawings. Which means that the kids have created dozens of Hueys since the day they read this book.
I found out that you can design your own Hueys here. Something that the younger children love to do over and over.
And there is a reading of the book here.
Oliver Jeffers says he was greatly influenced in childhood by Maurice Sendak's works, and in particular one of my favourite books, Where the Wild things are.
He has written many other sweet, quirky, funny and subtly touching books - Lost and Found, How to Catch a Star, This Moose belongs to Me, Stuck, Heart and the Bottle to name some.
The New Jumper. A trendsetter!
