A contemporary fable about one such moment of seeing through the mask of terrifying otherness the soft heart of our shared humanity.

In vibrant, textured illustrations and simple words, Brown tells the story of little Bobby, who sees his stern teacher, Ms. Kirby, as a scary green ogre - until, one weekend, the two unexpectedly bump into each other at the park.
Suddenly, the leisurely environment strips them of their weekday roles. After the inevitable awkwardness and disorientation - in one particularly sweet exchange, Bobby, who resists his initial instinct to just run away, raises his hand while sitting next to Ms. Kirby on the bench; she gently reminds him that, outside the classroom, he can just ask his question - they have no choice but to first reluctantly, then tacitly, then gladly get to know each other.

Miraculously, Ms. Kirby has transmogrified from a monster into an ordinary woman. With each shared moment and each small kindness exchanged, her monsterness had dissolved into her simple humanity - a sweet reminder that however people may be the product of their culture and surrounding context, when one learns to see with “the eye of the heart,” their basic goodness will eventually emanate.

In a way, the story shines a compassionate light on the challenge of understanding others despite their differences and that of feeling accepted ourselves despite our quirks are two sides of the same coin - a coin that is undoubtedly our most valuable currency for human bonds.

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When I was a kid I had several grumpy adults in my life. There were the old neighbours who would actually yell at me to get off their lawn. There was the mysterious family of five who all seemed to be mean and miserable, even the kids. And yes, I did have a few grumpy teachers, too.

I was confused and concerned by all of those people, but the grumpy teachers were especially distressing because I had to be in close quarters with them for a whole school year. To make matters worse, I had a big, uncontrollable imagination, and there was a time when I actually thought those teachers were monsters in disguise. But over time, most of those teachers gradually revealed their softer side - they’d share a personal story, or share my excitement about some little thing - and I’d gradually realise that they weren’t so bad… in fact, they were actually pretty cool.

The optimism in my stories is no accident. But I think you’ll find that in addition to positivity there’s always a dose of reality in my stories. Each of my characters faces real disappointment, and their story is about them overcoming their disappointment. That’s real, and kids get it.

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