Bein' with You This Way

by William Nikola, Michael Bryant (Illustrator)

Overview

An African American girl and her friends play together and learn that despite their physical differences, they are all really the same.

On a beautiful sunny day, an African American girl visits the park and rounds up a group of her friends for an afternoon of fun and playground games. As they play, this happy crew discovers that despite their physical differences - straight hair, curly hair; brown eyes, blue eyes; light skin, dark skin - they are all really the same.

With the irresistible and exuberant beat of a playground rap, Bein' with You This Way invites readers of all ages to join in this celebration of diversity. Michael Bryant's illustrations add to the rhythm with an unforgettable cast of characters who share a sunny day and the universal childhood joy of just bein' together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781880000267
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,056,176
Product dimensions:	10.25(w) x 8.44(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

W. Nikola-Lisa is the author of numerous award-winning children's books, among them Bein' with You This Way, Summer Sun Risin', and My Teacher Can Teach Anyone!, all published by Lee & Low Books. A professor of education at National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois, Nikola-Lisa lives in Chicago with his wife. To find out more about W. Nikola-Lisa, visit his website: nikolabooks.com.

Michael Bryant has received the Jane Addams Peace Award Honor, Parenting magazine's Reading Magic Award and the Parents Choice award for his illustration work. Bryant lives in Saylorburg, Pennsylvania with his wife and their two daughters. Visit him online at www.michaelbryantart.com.

Editorial Reviews

"An exuberant story. The cheerful faces and colorful outdoor scenes in Bryant's vibrant paintings harmonize so well with the bouncy rapping that children will clamor for an immediate reread." — Kirkus Reviews

"[An] ode to the beauty of diversity." — School Library Journal

"This fast-paced, cheerful, rap story is multicultural literature at its best." — Child Magazine

CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor - Jane Addams Peace Association

From the Publisher

Individual differences are celebrated with a lilting, repetitive verse. PW said, ``Bryant's full-page, ginger-toned watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations give the book its buoyancy and warmth.'' Ages 2-8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 2-A sunny day, an urban park, and a multiethnic cast of characters form the setting for this ode to the beauty of diversity. A young African-American girl urges other children to snap their fingers, tap their toes, and sing along with her as she notices that- brown eyes or blue, big nose or small, straight hair or curly-everyone is different, yet the same. In spite of its positive, upbeat intent, the rhyme scheme is awkward, requiring a forced verbal interpretation to sound catchy. The mottled illustrations capture the mood of the sun-dappled, action-packed park, and the smiling children represent a veritable United Nations of humanity. More of a chant than a story, this title certainly has a commendable message and will be useful in filling requests for multicultural materials.-Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library

School Library Journal