20x02 - Unique Monique

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♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know
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♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Ooh... ♪

Captioning made possible by
u.s. Department of education

Man: all right,
go where it goes.

Come on, let's keep it up.

Keep it in the full court.

All right, pass to the left.

[Indistinct]

All right, get it to kanina.

Hi. It's soccer practice
for the queen eagles.

They're getting ready for
a big game

Coming up later on
this afternoon.

Here you go.

Pretty spiffy uniforms, huh?

Uniforms are a very important
part of team play.

During the game,
it helps each player

Identify their teammates
on the field,

And it also helps each player

Feel a part of a team.

But even though everyone
wears the same uniform,

Each girl still has her own
unique approach to the game

And a playing style
that reflects her own
individual personality.

Here's a story about a girl
who wore a uniform,

But she also liked
to stand out in a crowd,

And along the way, she found
some very interesting ways

To express her individuality.

It's called "unique monique."

Narrator: at monique's school,
all the children
had to wear uniforms.

They were brown and blue,

And monique thought they were
the ugliest colors

And the ugliest clothes

She had ever seen.

Every day she would
tell her mother,

"I don't want to wear
my uniform."

Monique wanted to be different.

One day after school,
monique found an old trunk
in the attic.

The first thing she saw
when she opened it

Was a huge red hat.

She tried it on, then looked at
herself in the mirror.

"I'm wearing this
to school tomorrow."

[Children laughing]

The next morning,
monique didn't complain

About her uniform at all,

And when she got to school,

Everyone noticed her right away.

[Children oohing]

"Look what
monique is wearing."

"It looks like
a giant tomato."

Monique was thrilled.
She walked to class
with her head held high

So everyone could see her hat.

"Monique, what is that thing
on your head?"

Asked her teacher
when she saw her.

"It's a red hat.
Isn't it beautiful?"

Children: wow!

"Monique,
please take it off.

Hats are not allowed in school."

[Children groaning]

So monique removed
her beautiful hat.

She did get to wear it
during recess, though,

And on the way home.

The next day, everyone at school

Was wearing a hat.

Some were green,
some were yellow,

Some were small,
and others were enormous.

The teachers were very upset.

"Everyone take off your hats!"
Demanded the principal.

[Children groaning]

"Hats are not allowed
in school."

[Indistinct chatter]

The only one
who wasn't upset was monique.

She had found other things
in her mother's old trunk.

"Look at those glasses!"
Said katerina the next morning.

"They're wild!"

"Those are the coolest glasses
I've ever seen!"

Monique walked slowly
to her classroom

Wearing the fanciest, shiniest,
most beautiful glasses

In the world.

Then her teacher saw them.

"Monique, you must remove
those glasses immediately."

Monique took off her glasses,

But the next day, everyone was
wearing glasses.

[Children laughing]

"Glasses may not
be worn by children

Who don't need them."

[Children groaning]

At home, monique searched
her mother's trunk again.

She pulled out
old dresses, scarves,
and colorful jackets.

Then, all of a sudden,

She felt something down at
the bottom of the trunk.

She was thrilled.

The perfect thing to wear
to school tomorrow.

The next morning, everyone was
waiting for monique to arrive.

"Look what monique
is wearing today!"

The other girls loved it,

And the next day, all the girls

Had decorated barrettes
and headbands in their hair.

Some wore braids, some pulled
their hair to the right,

Some pulled their hair
to the left,

Some to the back,
some to the front,

And some had pulled it
into their eyes.

But their teachers decided

The girls should all
wear their hair neatly.

Monique wouldn't give up.

She kept trying to find
ways to be different.

She started carrying
a big, fancy bag to school.

Then she painted
her fingernails.

She even wore fancy socks,

But all of them were
banned by the school.

[Children groaning]

Then, one day, monique went to
school looking ordinary.

[Children gasping]

Her teacher was impressed.

"Well done, monique.

"It's wonderful to see you
dressed properly

"Without breaking
any school rules.

"Since you look so nice,

"Why don't you come to the front

And tell us about the story
we read for homework?"

Monique walked slowly to
the front of the class.

Everyone stared.
Monique looked
very, very different.

She had the brightest
and most colorful braces

Anyone had ever seen.

She smiled her biggest smile.

Children: wow!

At last, she was unique.
Unique monique.

Children: yay!

Even though monique had
lots of things in common

With the other kids,

She just had to show the world

That she was unique.

And you know, each one of us is
a one-of-a-kind,

And that's true even if you look
exactly like someone else.

Identical twins are like a team
wearing the same uniform.

It's in their face,
eyes, and hair.

Just like a player on a team,

Each person is unique
with different personalities.

All: we're identical twins
from twinsburg.

Burton: this is a city
called twinsburg, ohio.

All: hi from twinsburg, ohio.

Burton: it is the only city
named after twins,

And today is
a twins day festival.

[Indistinct chatter]

Twins from around the world
come together

To celebrate the uniqueness
of being alike.

My name is
zena aboujowdi.

And I am
maya aboujowdi.

Both: from ghana, west africa.

My name is sarah.

And my name is leah.

I'm jeralyn.
She's darcy.

She's sunita
and I'm anita,

And we come from
thamulanda, india.

We're from
rome, georgia.

Both: hello.
We're from belgium.

New hampshire.

I'm gary grimm.

And I'm larry.

And we're
from michigan.

From cleveland, ohio.

Both: youngstown, ohio.

We've been coming here


All the twin contests
that are in bleacher "b"

Are in the far left corner...

Man: we have a twins contest

Which consists of
the most alike,

The least alike,
the oldest, the youngest.

We're here
to win, baby.

That's all we came
here to do is win.

We're gold medal
champions.

Man, voice-over:
we give the winners medals.

Silver medal,
second place,

For angelie
and brooke eisenberg
from ohio.

Congratulations.

When you have so many twins
that look alike,

You have to start picking out
the small things,

Just try to start
weeding the couples out,

Because it is so difficult,
and they all look so cute.

Man: and also, it gets down to,

Ok, which one's got
a mole on his cheek

And which one doesn't,
or--you know,

Which one's hair is slightly
different than another.

Eyes can be different.

Height might be


It's not scientific,
but, you know,

You try to make it
as fair as you can.

And it's just really tough,
and you feel bad for
those who don't win.

Man: did--were any of these--

Would they be out on
the height thing?

Which one's...

Look at all this.
Oh, my goodness,
you're so colorful.

You're going to have
gold medals to take
with you.

Jaclyn and anastasia
pitt, from
gordon, ohio...

Girl: it was exciting
when I won.

I thought that I wasn't
going to win,

And I won first place
and I was, like,
so happy.

Most people are
born into an "i" world,

Both: and we were born into
a "we" world,

So we were born with
a soul mate,
a best friend,

Someone that
unconditionally
understands us.

Looks like you.
Sounds like you.

Not even only
looks like you.

Sometimes that
doesn't happen,

But you still have
a special bond.

We call it "twinergy,"

Both: the energy
created by twins.

First place for
larry and gary grimm,

From canton
and plymouth, michigan.

Man: we're gonna go home
and tell everybody

We finally won
a contest, one time
in our life.

My mother
will be proud.

Burton: because twins
look so much alike...

Both: ♪ she'll be coming 'round
the mountain when she comes,
she'll be... ♪

Burton: sound alike,
and often like the same things,

They sometimes feel like
they're the same person.

Women: ♪ she'll be coming 'round
the mountain when she comes ♪

We are like
one entity.

One person.
One. [Laughs]

One divided in two.

Occasionally,
we may be planning
to go somewhere,

And I'll say, "well,
let me take this
particular shirt,"

And I'll come out of
the house

And he's got
the same shirt on,

And we haven't
talked about it
at all.

Burton: but when you
go a little deeper,

You'll find that everything
isn't exactly the same.

The first place
for this contest,

Least alike boys,




Burton: twins have
some differences,

And they're not that shy
about pointing them out.

Even though we,
like, look alike,

We're--our, like,
our insides are
totally different.

I have this, like,
birthmark right here,

So you can
tell us apart.

I like pink
and she likes blue.

She's more social
than I am.

I have a birthmark
on this side.
[Laughs]

That side.
This side. Yeah.

...more of
the outgoing
and talkative.

I'm the more
laid-back,
mature one.

[Both laugh]

I like to do sports.

And I like to read.

My favorite food is
spaghetti.

My favorite food is
salad.

We obviously have
very similar tastes
in women,

As we married
twin sisters,

But we still are
quite different

If people do
get to know us.

I am a lot
easier-going.

I will think, "yeah,
it will get done,"

And my wife is
the same.

He's the starter
and jenna and I

Have to come up
and finish.

My wife and I have
twin boys who are 3

And we dress them
alike every day.

We're very happy
we don't have twins.

[Laughs]

Both: ♪ o'er the land
of the free ♪

♪ And the home of the brave ♪

[Applause]
woman: play ball!

Woman: for us, coming to
a festival like twinsburg,

It's a way for us
to celebrate our twinness
and multiples,

Where we have
a few thousand people

That are just like us,

And if someone said,
"what do you mean,
just like you?

What's the difference
between you being
a twin?"

I don't think
I look like that,

And she doesn't think
she looks like me,
but we know we do,

And when we see
all these twins,

We think it's funny
like the outside person
thinks it's funny,

Because we're like,
"we don't look
like that."

We say we're...

Both: two individuals that make
one heck of a whole together.

It's just amazing that
on the outside,
twins look alike,

But beneath the surface,
they can be
so completely different.

And the same holds true
for all of us.

What people see on the outside
is how we look, not who we are.

The way to let people know
the real you

Is to express
who you are inside.

This row, go onstage
and make a circle
on that side.

Man, voice-over:
a lot of kids are afraid
to say how they feel.

Very often, they're afraid of
either being mocked
by their friends

For the thing that
makes them different,

Or being too separated
from them.

I'm brandon fernandez.
I'm 20 years old,
from brooklyn, new york.

I run a program called
expressions,

Which is a small
non-profit organization.

We've tried to just respond
to what the kids need.

And it's not just
what they say they need

But what we find that they need
in other matters.

Start making a circle around
that white piece of paper.

We do artwork with students.
That's all about
self-expression.

I can
squeeze in? Ok.

Henry's going to
begin today's
activities,

So please
pay attention
to him, ok?

And I like
to play baseball.

Fernandez: our hope is to lead
the kids into a new perspective
on life,

A new way of taking things
a little easier.

I do something
very great.

Now, we have
discussed how our
body feels, right?

What are some emotions
that we identified
last week?

Girl: joyful.

Excited.

Fernandez: natalie?
Upset.

And nicole said
she gets hyper.

I feel like screaming.

Fernandez: like screaming?

Fernandez, voice-over:
the most important thing

That I find helped me learn

Was the time when I was younger
and I didn't talk.

I sat back and observed a lot,

And what I teach now
is all the stuff

That I observed growing up.

You could write it.

Burton: from when he was
very young,

Brandon was very shy.

Fernandez: growing up, I was
very afraid of expressing myself

Because of my stutter.

But when somebody stutters,
it means that

They get stuck on
a certain sound.

It's typically a hard sound,
like the ds
and sometimes the vowels.

They're very hard to just--
you keep saying them,

And your throat just keeps
repeating that sound

Until you pass through it.

I was typically afraid to speak
because when I did get stuck,

It would take me a long time
to get off of it.

In certain instances,
I'd be teased,

So it became a point where
I didn't even want
to speak anymore.

Burton: brandon's family
was important

In helping him out of
his personal dilemma.

Fernandez: my family
has always been very
understanding and close to me.

A lot of them have taught me
other ways to bond with them.

We didn't always have to talk.

Woman: you know,
as a mom, you feel bad

Because you feel like
your child's not perfect,

So it kind of made me
feel sad for him

And kind of anxious,
because now I was afraid

When he had to speak in public
or speak to somebody.

Burton: since he had
trouble speaking,

His mom encouraged him to write.

Fernandez: poetry was
what helped me the most,

Especially when my grandmother
had passed away

And I couldn't speak
to people about it.

My poetry became how I got
all my feelings out to people.

[Reading]
abuela, at times like this,

When the present
is not what we enjoy,

We must look back and remember,

Remember our triumphs,
our happy days.

I'll always remember to never be
put down by the present

But remember the past
and look forward to the future.

I love you and I always will.

Through my art, I was able
to overcome a lot of my stutter.

I still have it somewhat today,

But it's not nearly as severe
as it once was.

[Indistinct]

Burton: brandon's poetry
helped him to open up,

Gain confidence,
and make new friends.

Fernandez, voice-over:
I've changed tremendously.

I've become known as
the social director
of many places.

I'm usually the first one
to the dance floor,

The first one to introduce
myself to everybody.

Fernandez: quick strike
across the paper.

Perfect.

Fernandez, voice-over:
growing up, my family has always
been very understanding.

Very often, they were
the ones who protected
or took care of me,

Just because I wasn't really
very capable in a lot of
social settings.

Now it's kind of reversed
a lot of roles,

Where I've become that person
for other people.

I feel happy.

Man: why?

Because brandon helps us
solve problems

And he helps us
do better in school,

So I like to be here.

Fernandez, voice-over:
kids don't realize
what they can do,

Just because they've never had
the opportunity

To do it in such a free form.

They surprise themselves
by how beautiful the piece is,

And it's because they weren't
looking at it as they did it.

They were just doing it.

That's the most important part.

Burton: using the same creative
tools that helped him,

Brandon has watched his students

Grow to move past their fears

And express who they are inside.

I like that.

I'll meet up with you.
You go.

Now, before you
put it in,

I want you
to break it up.

It's going to be
all wet and juicy.
That's all ok.

Burton: brandon teaches that
self-expression

Reveals who we are
to ourselves and to others.

He took my pencil

And I wanted
to get it back

Before he got angry.

[Indistinct chatter]

I'm drawing something
I just thought of,

Something that I like right now
that making me happy.

I call it "me."

Fernandez, voice-over:
I love what I do with the kids,

And to know that I'm being
like a big brother
to a lot of them

Is very important to me

And it makes me feel
really good.

So you two are
going to be getting--
a dispute.

One of the things
I love most about books

Is that there are no two
that are just alike,

So when you finish
one great book,

You can always be sure
that there are more
to look forward to.

So here are 3 that are
as unique as monique,

But you don't have to take
my word for it.

I'm danielle
and I read "daffodil."

It's about a girl who's
one of 3 triplets.

Their mother made them dresses.

Violet got violet, rose got red,
and daffodil got yellow.

But daffodil didn't like
the color of her dress.

She just thought
yellow was ucky,

Because she had to wear it
over and over again.

I think daffodil
just wanted to be unique.

I like wearing different
kinds of dresses,

And I felt bad because I would
get tired of wearing it.

Daffodil found out that
her other sisters

Didn't like
their dresses, either.

She refused to wear
her yellow dress,

And she screamed,
"not now, not ever again."

That was really surprising.

In the end,
daffodil was very happy.

You'd be surprised to read
how it all worked out.

If you want to find out,
you have to read "daffodil."

I'm michael and this is
my book review.

It's called "I'm gonna like me."

This book is about
a boy and a girl.

They tell each other
how much they like themselves.

The whole book is
one big conversation.

Let me read some of this to you.

[Reading]
I'm gonna like me when
I'm sharing my lunch

Because just like bananas,
friends come in a bunch.

I'm gonna like me
when I don't run so fast.

Then they pick teams
and I'm chosen last.

I'm gonna like me when
I eat something new,

Even if my mom makes
octopus stew.

I'm gonna like me.
I already do.

But enough about me.
How about you?

I like me.
Do you like you?

I love this book and I think

All of you kids out there
should read it.

My name is anzi and the book
I'm holding in my hand
is called "the name jar."

It's about unhei, a girl
who moves to america from korea.

When she's in america,
kids make fun of
her korean name.

She reacted by being
really embarrassed

And not talking to anyone

And being really shy.

Then she gets the idea
to have a name jar.

The name jar contains
american names

That the kids made up for her.

Each kid adds different names
to the jar until it's full.

The idea is for her
to pick out of the jar

A new american name.

When the time comes
to pick out the name,

The jar is missing.

But one day,
her friend named joey

Takes the name jar
and goes to her house.

And after school,
unhei comes home.

She finds him with the jar.

Tells her he likes
her korean name.

She doesn't want her
to change it,

So she decides not to.

And that's a happy ending.

If you're 6 or over,
I would really recommend
this book,

"The name jar."

Man: ♪ when I woke up
this morning ♪

♪ Much to my surprise ♪

♪ I was seeing
two of everything ♪

♪ I couldn't believe my eyes ♪

♪ I thought I might be dreaming,
so I did a double take ♪

♪ I saw twins as far as
my eyes could see ♪

♪ But I was wide awake ♪

♪ Had a case of double vision ♪

♪ Two by two ♪

♪ Double vision, mm-hmm ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Two by two ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Everyone had a lookalike ♪

♪ Everyone was two of a kind ♪

♪ From the oldest gent
down to a little tyke ♪

♪ I thought I was
losing my mind ♪

♪ So I called my dear mama,
she said ♪

♪ "Son, I know
the state you're in" ♪

♪ You're not in any trouble ♪

♪ You're just seeing twins ♪

♪ You got a case of ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Two by two ♪

♪ Double vision,
that's what I say, now ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Two by two ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Look a little deeper ♪

♪ And you'll see
it's real clear ♪

♪ Sometimes things
that look the same ♪

♪ Are not as they appear ♪

♪ No, they're not
as they appear ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, double vision,
two times ♪

♪ Double vision,
oh, double vision ♪

♪ I see double vision ♪

♪ Two by two ♪
♪ whoo! ♪

♪ Double vision, mm-hmm ♪

♪ Double vision ♪

You don't have to be
a teammate or a twin

To know how wonderful it feels

To be a part of a group.

Whether it's your family,
a classroom, or a club,

It's nice to fit in,
to work and play together.

And you can be a part of
lots of groups

And still have your own
individual style,

And it's important to remember

That you don't have to try.

It's simply a matter
of letting the world see

Those unique qualities
that already exist

Inside of you.

I'll see you next time.

Hey, karina.

All: whoo!


Burton: today's
"reading rainbow" books are

"Unique monique"
by maria rousaki,

Illustrated by
polina papanikolaou,

Published by kane/miller
book publishers;

"Daffodil" by emily jenkins,
illustrated by tomek bogacki,

Published by farrar, straus,
& giroux, llc;

"I'm gonna like me: letting off
a little self-esteem,"

By jamie lee curtis,
illustrated by laura cornell,

Published by joanna cotler
books, an imprint of
harpercollins publishers;

"The name jar,"
written and illustrated by
yangsook choi,

Published by alfred a. Knopf.

Hi. I'm levar burton.

In uncertain times,
there's no more effective way

To make your kids
feel good and safe

Than to spend time with them.

We at "reading rainbow" suggest
sharing a book with your family.

Read for fun, read for family,
read for our future.