Different Just Like Me

by Lori Mitchell, Lori Mitchell (Illustrator)

Overview

In this celebration of diversity, a young girl sees the beauty in everyone’s similarities and differences as she encounters people from all walks of life. April is excited about visiting Grammie, but she has a whole week before she can go. The week goes by quickly, however, as April runs errands with her mother. On each of these trips, April encounters someone who is different—someone who is either older, speaks another language, uses sign language, or reads braille. As April learns about their differences she also notices the things she shares with each of them. Full-color acrylics highlight people and a few objects against black-and-white backgrounds and landscapes, inviting the reader to look closely for both similarities and differences in each scene. April’s exploration of a world of difference is sure to inspire every reader to appreciate the distinctive qualities in themselves and everyone around them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570914904
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	07/01/2001
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,111,527
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.11(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lori Mitchell has worked as a freelance designer, illustrator, and teacher ever since graduating with honors from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Lori has spent a lot of time traveling and learning about different cultures and people. She now lives in San Diego with her husband, Dean, and their daughter.

Editorial Reviews

No youngster will miss the belabored message of Mitchell's first children's book: though people are different from one another in some ways, basically they are alike. Young April comes to this conclusion as she rides a bus with two children who communicate in sign language, watches a blind woman reading Braille numbers next to an elevator and washes her hands in a rest room alongside a woman in a wheelchair. The author stretches her concept thin with several examples, among them a man beside her at a lunch counter who orders the same meal as hers. Oddly, after painstakingly spelling out how each person is different yet simultaneously the same as Alice, in two examples Mitchell pointedly sidesteps the issue of race. Mitchell's art presents another curiosity: though she opens and closes with finely detailed full-color scenes, in the remaining illustrations only the people appear in full color, against black-and-white backgrounds. While the visual effect may focus readers' attention on the individuals in question, kids may well feel cheated--by the absence not only of fully rendered artwork but of a story line as well. All ages. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 3-A sweet dose of bibliotherapy that explores the similarities and differences among people. The story is told from the point of view of a little girl anticipating a visit to her grandmother's house. Every day as she waits, the girl and her mother go on an errand. On each of these trips, the child encounters someone who is different-someone who is either older, speaks another language, has a disability, or is of a different race-but who is doing the same thing she is. Acrylic paints highlight only a few items or people in each of the pen-and-ink illustrations, inviting children to take a closer look while reinforcing the story's point. Tolerance and acceptance are difficult concepts to address for a young audience, and this book does it in a manner that can be applied to a number of situations.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

More of a teaching text, Mitchell's story is really a series of observations, ostensibly by a child, about how people differ and how they are the same.

Kirkus Reviews