Uncumo lukaPeggy

Uncumo lukaPeggy is a humorous story of a young mouse daring to be different. Peggy tries to do different things in order to set herself apart from her schoolmate however later learns that she was always different. This is a story about the confidence of self and learning to embrace who you are.

Unhappy about having the same uniform and looking like the other mice in his school, Peggy goes in search for what makes her exceptional. In her mission, she first dives into paint that to her surprise, the paint turns her skin into one colour as her uniform. Unhappy that her uniform looks like the colour of her skin, Peggy goes on to wear a wig- hoping that it would make her look different but unfortunately, cames a strong wind that flew Peggy’s wig away. In disappointment, Peggy goes back to school.

When arriving at school she is surprised that the other mice find her interesting, Peggy later finds out that she is the only one with a broken tooth at her school and that’s what makes her exceptional that she has a different smile. Upon this discovery, Peggy and other mice laugh together and have a joyous moment hence the title “Uncumo lukaPeggy” which translates “Peggy’s smile or laugh.”

This story teaches that we are all different and we should all embrace our differences. The moral of the story is also teaching children not to try to change themselves or to look like someone else. This is of great importance, especially where our world state where people go through extreme measures to modify how they look (the skin bleaching and make up).

Children can be very hostile to each other especially when they have identified something different about the next person, however, we see Peggy’s schoolmates accepting her uniqueness by laughing with Peggy instead of teasing her.

This is also encouraging that children should consider treating each other with respect and should be kind to one another.
This is a very inviting and fun story. What makes it funny is the fact that writer Kaanitah Cassim taps on the impossible teaching a crucial principle (having good self-esteem) through a mouse who goes to school and at some point wears a wig- this is important for a child’s imagination.
The bright mustard dominant colour of the book is inviting makes the words easy to scan and easy to read. The images on the book are clear and clean, making it easy for the reader to read the story. Often, children’s books with busy images are discouraging to read. Uncumo lukaPeggy is the perfect size and perfect piece of literature suitable for the foundation phase.