Johnny Big Ears - John Paul Padilla

Youngster feeling unhappy and down? Give him a haircut.

It sure helped Johnny Big Ears, the character in John Paul Padilla’s inspirational children’s tale of the same name, in which Johnny, as you can pretty much guess, has big ears. He’s starting his first day of kindergarten and, thanks to Mom, now has a spiffy, curly new ‘do to make a good first impression. However, some recess bullies find humor in Johnny’s augmented lobes, teasing him and calling him names. But does that get Johnny down? No, sir! In the midst of paying no attention to the bullies, he befriends other friends, like Charlie Freckles, who, like him, are unique in there own special ways. (I do love how their last names reflect their special qualities – really, what are the chances of that?)

A well-constructed tale with a beautiful message, Johnny Big Ears is a delightful story that all kids (and a few adults) should read or – and pardon the extremely obvious pun here – lend an ear to. Perhaps there should be a sequel called Sally Big Nose? Just teasing.