Sweety

Andrea Zuill’s Sweety combines a silly story with a deep underlying message. Sweety is the name of a naked mole rat, born without fur, which is awkward enough. Sweety also wears headgear and eyeglasses and likes interpretive dance and fungi. Her grandma calls her a square peg, but her Aunt Ruth understands her perfectly. Aunt Ruth tells Sweety to stay true to herself because being a unique individual is one of the best things about her. But being different can also be lonely. Sweety sometimes wishes she were like the other mole rats who have lots of friends. Maybe she should consider being more like them. Will Sweety ever find a friend who gets her?

Sweety is a familiar story with a fresh take: stay true to yourself and you will find your people. Zuill adds humor and her own style, with brightly colored illustrations that are just as bizarre as her characters. The naked mole rat characters on each page don wigs, overalls and hats. There’s even one wearing pearls. Sweety helps reinforce that being a unique individual isn’t so bad, and is actually pretty awesome. And eventually, someone else pretty awesome may come along.