Which of us has forgotten our childhood to the extent that we cannot remember, at one time or another, feeling too small, too tall, too thin, or "too anything", as the author puts it. Every child experiences these feelings in some form, quite often, as is the case here, because of a perceived failure to live up to expectations. Just like the little Theo, children often need their parents' reassurance of who they are and just how important they are, whatever their individual characteristics may be. The book speaks on a level of the target audience in order for them to understand his reactions.