It isn’t always easy to just be yourself.Princess Towonga is sad. She feels different than the other children and wants to be just like them. But one day something changes. The princess must perform a very special job. Can a friend, a mouse, and a magic gem help her discover how important she really is?“A Rare Gem” helps teach youngsters that it’s okay to be different and that every person is unique and special in their own way. Five Stars "We each have our own talents and abilities, and we are all equally special in our own way. Deanna Kahler does an excellent job of incorporating this message into a story that kids will absolutely love. A Rare Gem is a cute story that has an even deeper meaning and has beautiful illustrations. Children will really enjoy it; I know mine will." ~ Cheryl Schopen for Readers' Favorite Deanna Kahler is a proud mom and an accomplished writer. She enjoys sharing the beauty of the world with children and helping them to learn and grow. She is the author of three books, including an award-winning memoir, "From Pain to Parenthood," which details her experiences with miscarriage and adoption. She lives with her husband and daughter in Michigan, where she enjoys writing, dancing, walking, and visiting parks in her spare time. Please visit deannakahler.com for more information. About the Illustrator  Pennie Ellis is an art teacher at an International Baccalaureate World school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She has been teaching art, grades K-12, for seventeen years and has a background in industrial design and computer animation. She also teaches graduate students in the College of Education at Oakland University. One of the things she likes most about teaching art is using a wide variety of art media from paint to clay to digital arts. She gets a lot of joy from working with children and seeing the artist in them come alive. She has over 400 wonderful children at school and a very amazing one at home.  A Rare Gem  is illustrated in watercolor.