Hi, my name is Marissa Blalock. I am a student of social work at The University of Southern Mississippi. I live in Liberty, Mississippi with my husband and three children.

 Hi, my name is Kiera Johnson. I am social work major at The University of Southern Mississippi. I am from Natchez, MS, but moved to Hattiesburg, MS a couple of years ago. I have a handsome son that I love dearly.  

    Hi, I’m Billy, and this is my friend Marshal. We are best friends, but it wasn’t always like that. You see, Marshal isn’t from around here. He’s not even from this state!  Marshal is from a different planet named Ooka. I bet you’re wondering how we met and what made us become friends….are you? Cool! Well, follow me, and I’ll tell you our story. 

    It all began one hot summer day in June. I was fishing in our pond when out of nowhere, this thing crashed in the woods near the pond. It was loud and scared me a little. I dropped my fishing pole and ran to see what it was, and that’s when I saw him...Marshal. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and we both screamed. Akkkk! Marshal started to shake, and I could tell he was scared. I was a little too! 

Akkkk!

Akkkk!

    Marshal looks different than I do. He has three eyes, and I have two. He has two ears just like I do, but his ears are on top of his head. We both have two feet and two hands. Even our skin color is different. He is orange, and I am brown.  I have black hair, but Marshal doesn’t have any, just like my Dad. Speaking of my Dad...my parents even look different than I do. I bet yours do too. Do they? You can draw a picture of your parents or grownup in the back of the book and circle the ways they are different from each other and from you. 

    My mom is tall, with long brown hair, and my Dad is short with no hair. My mom wears glasses to help her see, but I do not.

    I wanted my new friend Marshal to feel included, so I invited some of my friends to meet him. I also wanted Marshal to see that not everyone here on Earth looks the same. We all have differences. My friend Jill has short black hair and loves cats. She has a pet cat named Goldie. I don’t have any pets. My best friend Josh is a darker brown than I am and has the same color hair, but it’s different than mine. Josh likes to play sports, and I like to fish. My friend Sarah has blond hair and likes to skate. Andy, my other best friend, lives on a farm and likes to ride his dirt bike when he’s finished with his chores. Draw a picture of what you like to do and next to it, draw a picture of what your friends like to do. What is different about those activities?     

    Marshal saw that everyone is unique and started to feel accepted by all my friends. My friends really liked meeting Marshal too and didn’t care that his ears were on top of his head or that he had three eyes. Three eyes made it more fun to play hide-and-go-seek with him.

We love Marshal!!!!

    My parents liked Marshal and invited all of my friends and him to go eat pizza. When it was time to get in the car, Marshal did not know what it was and was surprised we couldn’t fly it like he could in his spaceship. I wanted to fly in his spaceship, but my mom said no. All my friends got in our car, and Marshal flew to the pizza place in his spaceship. 

    We ordered a cheese pizza and pepperoni pizza, but Marshal wanted a pizza with dirt and worms. My friends and I thought that was gross, but Marshal thought our pizza was gross too. What kind of food do you like? And, what kind of food do you not like that maybe a friend or family member likes? On the activity page, circle your favorite foods. Draw a square around your friends or family members favorite foods. 

    After pizza, it was time for Marshal to go home. He told us he had a family as I do, and they might be worried about him. 

I asked Marshal what his planet was like. He said that they had big mountains and he liked to play with his friend, Lizzy. I asked him what Lizzy looked like. She has pink fuzzy fur and purple eyes that stand straight up. Lizzy sounds like she would be fun to play with. I told Marshal that if he ever comes back to Earth, he can bring Lizzy too. I think that made him happy. 

Marshal got in his spaceship and flew away. Even though we are different, we can still be friends. I hope to see him again one day.     

Goodbye, Marshal!

Goodbye, Billy!