Whoever You Are

by Mem Fox, Leslie Staub (Illustrator)

Overview

Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are all alike. Stirring words and bold paintings weave their way around our earth, across cultures and generations. At a time when, unfortunately, the lessons of tolerance still need to be learned, Whoever You Are urges us to accept our differences, to recognize our similarities, and-most importantly-to rejoice in both. 10 X 10-1/2. Full-color illustrations

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152060664
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/01/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 5.25(h) x 0.69(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

MEM FOX is the author of many acclaimed books, including Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Possum Magic, Koala Lou, Time for Bed, and, for adults, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. She lives in Adelaide, Australia.

Leslie Staub's paintings have been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States. In addition to picture books, she illustrated Lives: Poems About Famous Americans. She lives just north of New Orleans, Louisiana.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An essential book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity."—Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

"Raschka translates the Shaker musical paean to a simplified life into a sort of peaceable kingdom where various animals dwell together in harmony with nature," said PW. "He creates an exceedingly handsome stained glass effect with heavy black lines juxtaposed against hues as warm as a flurry of autumn leaves." Ages 3-7. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

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.

Kirkus Reviews

"An essential book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity." — Kirkus Reviews

"With a gentle and knowing calm, Fox (Time for Bed) provides a compelling exploration of the differences between children that make them unique as well as the common humanity that unites them. In Fox's picture book, divisions of culture, race and geography fall away in light of a global community where smiles, laughter and tears are universally understood. The simple, rhythmic text, written in the second person, is designed to involve the reader directly" — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher