Maisie Discovers Her Fingerprint written by Sandra Kay Chambers is a picture book written to help children understand that God created each of us in a unique and special way.  Children will enjoy the repetitive text and will soon join in with the “Yes, Yes, Yes” and “No, No, No,” all the while learning about the uniqueness of a variety of animals as well as themselves. The bright, colorful pictures draw the reader and the listener into the book. Maisie’s expressions show feelings that children can easily identify with.

Review

Maisie, a cute little puppy, snuggles with Sarah as she shares with Maisie what she discovers from her book. Sarah tells her that each person has unique fingerprints, and Maisie wonders if dogs have unique paw prints. Maisie wants to be special, too. She wonders who she might ask. Then her “Aha” moment occurs. She’ll visit the zoo.

Chimpanzee

She visits her friend, the chimpanzee, and asks if chimpanzees have unique fingerprints. “‘Yes, yes, yes,” Chimp says. Then Maisie asks if dogs have unique fingerprints. “No, no, no.” Even worse, the chimpanzee laughs at Maisie.

Orangutan

Then Maisie asks the orangutan.  “Yes, yes, Yes,” replies her friend Orangutan. She has unique fingerprints but “No, no, no” not dogs. “They just have paws.” The author makes me feel Maisie’s loneliness and sadness.

Gorilla

Surely there would be someone to help. Gorilla was next, but the answer was still the same.

Koala

Maisie is learning about different animals as she visits her friends in the zoo. Koala bears seem to have fingerprints like humans. But Maisie only has paws. It seems her friends are only making matters worse.

Other Zoo Animals

Maisie overhears a zoo guide describing the unique patterns on the fur of the zebras, giraffes, leopards, and tigers. She asks the leopard if her dog fur is unique. Again, she receives the same response—Maisie isn’t special at all.

The Reveal

Maisie mopes back home to find Sarah still reading. Now, Sarah has discovered something really unique. “A dog’s nose print is unique, just like human fingerprints are.” In this section there is a close-up photograph of Maisie’s nose showing her “fingerprint”.

Encouragement and Learning

Maisie Discovers Her Fingerprint is a book that will encourage young children to understand God made each of us unique. It also helps young children discover the uniqueness of other animals in God’s creation. I know I learned things!

Additional Resources

Sandra Chambers offers a section to help us think about our unique qualities created by God. Our qualities may include freckles, our special skills, or our size.

There is a section on fingerprint facts and resources for a fingerprint activity pack.

Sandra Chambers has written a devotional book for older children you may also want to check out.

GIVEAWAY!

Author Sandra Kay Chambers is giving away an autographed copy of Maisie Discovers Her Fingerprint (US addresses only). To enter, leave a comment on this post by January 30.

Gail Cartee is an author, blogger, and conference teacher. She is a team member of the Write2Ignite Conference. She is an Honor graduate of the University of South Carolina, holding a BA in Early Childhood Education and an MEd from Southern Wesleyan University. She lives with her husband, Richard, in the foothills of Upstate of SC where they raised three children.