You Be Me, I'll Be You [Hardcover]

Pili Mandelbaum (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

A brown-skinned daughter and her white father experiment to see what it would be like to have the other's skin color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-- Anna, the child of a biracial couple, doesn't like her curly hair or dark skin. Her father insists he has never liked his pale skin and straight hair, and that he wishes he could be darker, like Anna. The child and father then "trade colors" by using coffee ground to darken his face and flour to lighten hers. The two then go out to meet Anna's mother, who is not especially pleased with their appearances. The fact that the father denigrates his physical characteristics in an attempt to solve the problem does not present a positive approach to Anna's concerns. The earth-tone illustration makes the child look unrealistically like one of her rag dolls, while her father has well-delineated features. Books such as Arnold Adoff's Black Is Brown Is Tan (Harper, 1973) and All the Colors of the Race (Lothrop, 1982) celebrate diversity without compromising any race. Hoffman's Nancy No-Size (1987) and Bradman's Wait and See (1988, both Oxford) also portray biracial families in a positive multicultural context. Although Mandelbaum deserves credit for attempting to address this issue, this Belgian import needn't have made the Atlantic crossing. --Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Anna, the interracial child of a white father and black mother, explores questions and yearnings she has about her identity by "switching" skin-colors with her father. With wit, compassion and a very light and non-didactic hand, You Be Me, I'll Be You examines issues of concern not only to interracial children, but to all children who have ever worried about their "differences. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers; First US edition (January 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916291278
• ISBN-13: 978-0916291273
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for all children!, October 1, 2001

By 

Karen (Maysville, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Be Me, I'll Be You (Paperback)

Being a mother of two bi-racial children, I love this book! "You be me and I'll be you" is a one of a kind children's book. Being that there are more bi-racial children in the world, this book is a blessing for awareness. It's about time someone recognized the beauty of being not white, not black, but human. I highly recommend it, not only for bi-racial children but for all children.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story but a little weird, January 10, 2007

By 

Luci A. Fortune (Las Vegas, NV, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You Be Me, I'll Be You (Paperback)

I'm not really excited about this book because the story gets a little weird and the illustrations aren't that appealing to me. A black child and her white step-father talk about swapping their ethnicities. It's was OK until dad starting rubbing coffee grounds on his face. Not something I'd probably read to my kids just because I can come up with a better way to teach them about the differences in ethnicities in people.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not impressed, August 29, 2010

By 

Jessica - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Be Me, I'll Be You (Paperback)

As a mom of to biracial kids, I was excited to see this book and share it with them. However after reading it for myself first, I regret purchasing it! I am not impressed with the dad in the story making himself dirty in order to look darker, and I dont think this puts race in a positive light. The illustrations are dark and not encouraging to a kid looking for acceptance. I will NOT be sharing this book with my children!