Whoever You Are (Board book)

by Mem Fox (Author), Leslie Staub (Illustrator) "Little one, whoever you are, wherever you are, there are little ones just like you all over the world..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3. Fox has composed a simple refrain to celebrate human connections in this lovely picture book. "Little one, whoever you are," she explains, there are children all over the world who may look different, live in different homes and different climates, go to different schools, and speak in different tongues but all children love, smile, laugh, and cry. Their joys, pain, and blood are the same, "whoever they are, wherever they are, all over the world." Staub's oil paintings complement the simple text. She uses bright matte colors for the landscapes and portraits, placing them in gold borders, set with jewels and molded from plaster and wood. These frames enclose the single- and double-page images and echo the rhythm of the written phrases. Within the covers of the book, the artist has created an art gallery that represents in color, shape, and texture, the full range of human experience.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews
A one-world, ``we-are-all-the-same-under-the-skin'' message for the very young from Fox (The Straight Line Wonder, p. 1388, etc.). ``Little one, whoever you are, wherever you are, there are little ones just like you all over the world.'' Skin color, homes, schools, lifestyles, and languages may differ (and newcomer Staub shows how, in folk-art oil paintings mounted in gilded and jeweled wooden frames), but love and laughter, pain and tears are the same for all. The faces of the little ones in Staub's paintings are as appealing as dolls', and a beatific paternal figure in a sky-blue suit printed with clouds floats through the pages with a bevy of children in his arms. An essential book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity. (Picture book. 2-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Board book: 28 pages
• Publisher: Red Wagon Books; 1 edition (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152060669
• ISBN-13: 978-0152060664
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #189,046 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All the world's children have the same wants and needs, December 27, 2004

By	a reader (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoever You Are (Reading Rainbow Book) (Paperback)

I am a Lutheran church librarian and I am glad I bought this very satisfactory book for our church library. Its text stresses that children are the same the world over. They have the same feelings and needs, and have the same hopes and dreams. The illustrations are a nice change from the usual. Each page is surrounded by a gold picture frame in which faux jewels are embedded. The illustrations appear to be tempera or opaque watercolor, drawn in Persian style. The colors are very saturated. The book's cover gives you an idea of what they look like. The message of this book is one of diversity--that even though children live in different parts of the world and may have different nationalities, races, ethnicities, languages or faiths, they still have the same hopes, dreams and daily needs. This is a very important message for children to hear in today's world where there is so much suspicion of those we "perceive" to be different. The more children realize that kids are the same everywhere, the more tolerant they will be. Children pick up prejudice by the time they are three years of age, say researchers, so you have to nip it in the bud very early, and this book does that in a wonderful way.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL Book!, November 12, 2004

By	Proud Mom (GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoever You Are (Reading Rainbow Book) (Paperback)

This book is a big hit with my PRE-K class! I was pleasantly surprised at how responsive and attentive they were while I was reading this. They have memorized most of the book. They all loved it! An excellent resource for teaching about diversity and various cultures! I'd definitely recommend reading this book to/with ages four through maybe second grade.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is who we are..., December 23, 2002

By	M. Rosenthal "MM Rosenthal, HBE" (Jamaica Plain, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Whoever You Are (Reading Rainbow Book) (Paperback)

As the home educator of children from toddler to pre-school, representing a wide range of cultures, this wonderful inclusive book is soothing and almost prayerful. I discovered it on a list of books recommended by Heifer.org, a non-profit organization bringing respectful solutions to many nations affected by poverty. The drawings by Leslie Staub, gently framed with "jewelled" borders, are universal. The text, by Mem Fox, reaches deep inside of us. Indeed, every child, every adult, has hearts that are "just the same" regardless of all the differences that separate us. It is hard to imagine anyone who can think war is the answer to anything, after reading this book. I heartily recommend it.