White sheets are a popular, easy costume idea that kids would wear to portray a ghost for Halloween. While many ghosts look the same with their white sheets, there is a ghost smaller than anyone else who feels isolated from his ghost family. The boisterous, inviting colors are no wonder why “The Right One” speaks for children of all ages, including adults who are also finding acceptance in the world they live in.
In its simple presence, the story follows a small ghost who wears different things to try to fit in his ghost community. This small ghost, Roderic, has a huge ghost family that has lived for centuries. Each one of them is wearing a white cloak. Because Roderic is so small in size, his aunts barely noticed that he was floating around. The aunts would float right through Roderic. Roderic gets worried and decides to find some objects to wear that would make him stand out.
The story hits close to the real world as many people are facing identity crisis with their cultural connections and changing technology this year. An enchanting tale that teaches people to embrace their true self, kids are finding ways to make themselves unique from others by the clothes they wear, the hair they fashion, and the toys they play with. Sometimes, children do struggle from being heard from their families and it’s always important to speak up to any concern they have.
Roderic’s family doesn’t always agree on his looks. To them, Roderic should wear a white sheet. They think that the different colors and clothes should stay at home. Going to the city where there are a diverse set of clothes that people wear, Roderic feels lost too. Despite his defiance to conform with the looks of his family, the family still loves him and what he does to stand out in the crowd. Roderic eventually finds a look that satisfies him most. The differences that Roderic brings in his looks inspire change and new things that his family should learn so that Roderic is no longer isolated from the family.
The book is strongly timely, as there is no better place to speak about diversity and inclusion today. Understanding differences allows people to accept different cultures and be tolerant of how people work and think. One can really comprehend to understand others struggles and successes and can challenge current systems that prevent marginalized voices from rising up. Roderic is an embodiment of those voices that can only whisper in the screaming crowd.
Roderic challenges us to become different in our own ways. To find out what look Roderic chose in the end, check out the book using this link.
