Most Exceptional Me

Most Exceptional Me is a picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about a little boy called Sam who finds that school is harder than he thought, and learns that mistakes are part of learning.

Sam is excited for school. He has his favourite lunchbox, the one with a star, and he is a big kid now, so there is no reason to cry. But when his teacher, Miss G, asks the date, he gets it wrong, and his face turns red. Reading gets harder as the words get longer, and the tears start to fall. Adding numbers is fine, until it is not.

Each time, Miss G tells him the same thing: you're most exceptional. She shows him a special way to calm down, tracing the fingers of her hand as they breathe in and out, five times. Sam learns to take a break, try again, sound out each letter and count his blocks. Learning, he finds, is not a race.

On the way home, his friend drops the sticker Miss G gave them for their work. Sam thinks about keeping it, but he gives it back, and he finds that it is nice to make others feel good too.

The story gives children who feel upset by mistakes a simple breathing exercise and a kind voice to remember. It is written by Tiffany Malas and Lauren Maerz, illustrated by Dan McGeehan, and it is music-free.

The first day

"Time to wake up. You have school today," Sam's mummy said in a loving way. They packed his bag and headed to the car, with his favourite lunchbox, the one with a star. Mummy walked him to his class and kissed him goodbye. Sam was a big kid now, so there was no reason to cry.

He put his things in his cubby and went to sit in the circle, next to his buddy. His teacher, Miss G, asked the class, "What's the date today?" Sam raised his hand, because he knew what to say. "It's the first day of September!" he answered in a proud voice.

But he was wrong. Why couldn't he remember? His face turned red and his body felt tight.

"You're most exceptional," said Miss G, even though he had not got it right. She traced the fingers of her hand and showed him how to take deep breaths, in and out. Sam did it five times, and what a difference it made. He felt ready again. Sometimes, he realised, he just needed to take a break. So he looked at the calendar and tried once more. "It's September the twenty-fourth," he said.

Reading and adding

Then it was time to move on, so Sam went to get his book. Back in the circle, he read the first word: "Look." But the words got harder, and he started reading them wrong. If he could not get this right, he thought, he would be there for ever. He felt tears falling down his face.

Miss G came to join him in his space. "You're most exceptional," she said. "There's no need to cry." So Sam took some deep breaths and gave it a try. He made the sound of every letter, and his reading got better and better. He did it! He read all the words in his book. Blending the sounds was all it took.

Sam went back to his desk with a smile, ready to work. One plus one equals two. Three plus one equals four. He could do it, and he was ready for more. But as the sums got bigger, he had that bad feeling again. "This is too hard," he told Miss G. "I don't know how."

"You're most exceptional, Sam," she said. "You can't quit now."

So he counted eight blocks and added the next one, then raised his hand so that Miss G would know he was done. She gave him a high five for trying so hard, and Sam started to feel much better inside. A big smile spread across his face. He had just needed to take his time. Learning is not a race.

The dropped sticker

At home time, Sam put his things away and waited for his friend, so that he would not walk alone. On the way to the bus, his friend dropped his sticker, the one Miss G had given them for doing their work. Sam thought about keeping it. It was really cool. But then his friend's mummy would not know how well he had done at school.

"You dropped your sticker," Sam said quickly.

"Oh, thanks, Sam!" said his friend happily. It was nice to make others feel good too.

"How was school today?" Mummy asked. Where could Sam begin? There was so much to say about his hard but exceptional day, and how he had calmed himself down with Miss G's special way.

That day, he had learned to read and to add. If he made a mistake, it was not that bad. All he had to do was take his time, and if he did not give up, he would be just fine. Best of all, he had learned that he was most exceptional, and there was no one else in the world he would rather be.