Thinking Differently

Lynda Mullaly Hunt has a new book out called Wish in a Tree. Its main character is Oliver. His brain works differently from his classmates’ brains. He wishes he were like everybody else. But he learns to love himself.

Hunt told TIME for Kids that she loves Oliver too. She has known a lot of kids like him. “I wanted to write a book that would honor those kids,” she said. The book’s message is about kindness.

“Nobody has ever done better because someone told them they were doing horribly,” Hunt says. So speak nicely to yourself and others.