What If We Were All The Same!: A Children's Book About Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion

by C.M. Harris, Ashlynn Feather (Illustrator)

Overview

"What If We Were All The Same! is an inspirational and warm celebration of the differences in all living things... highly recommended"

• 2020 Gold recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award
• Award Winner in the 2019 Children's Picture Book Category by American Book Fest

What If We Were All The Same! embraces all of our beautiful differences. Aimed to help children understand there are many great reasons for being friends with those who are different than they are. Whether they have red hair or brown hair, green eyes or blue eyes, long legs or short legs, light skin or dark skin, glasses, uses a wheelchair or anything else, it's absolutely OKAY! Our differences are what makes us unique and if we truly think about it, would you want to be the exact same as someone else?

What If We Were All The Same! is fun-filled with rhymes and colorful illustrations, brings attention to tough topics children can relate to.

• Great book for parents; conversation starter to discuss prejudices and racism to kids
• Great book for librarians and teachers; school introduction or back-to-school reading
• Great book to discuss friendship, acceptance, empathy, bullying, and more
• Great multicultural representation of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639189786
Publisher:	Purple Diamond Press INC
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	30
Sales rank:	911,693
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

Charity Michelle Harris spent her childhood feeling different. At age seven, she was diagnosed with Charcot Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), a neuromuscular disease that made it difficult for her to do things like other little kids. Children would call Charity "crippled," tease her for being skinny and would even imitate the way she walked. Even though she faced a few bullies growing up, Charity also had friends who were there when she needed them most. If her backpack were too heavy, some would carry it for her; if she stumbled or fell while walking, others would help her get back up; and when her hands were too tired to move, her friends would help her open her snacks. She wrote What If We Were All the Same! as a love letter to the child, she was- one who thought her differences made her unable and unimportant enough to chase her dreams. To read more about the author, visit CMHarrisBooks.com

Editorial Reviews

What If We Were All The Same! is an inspirational and warm celebration of the differences in all living things. Her story sends an important message to kids who often want to be just like everyone else...Each panel is brightly colored and upbeat and works perfectly with the story. This is a grand selection for storytime and offers teachers and caregivers opportunities to have kids weigh in on how their differences make them special in after-story-time discussions. It’s also suitable for new readers to try on their own. What If We Were All The Same! is highly recommended.

-Readers' Favorite Book Review

From the Publisher

08/30/2019

PreS-Gr 1-This book has an important message but suffers in its execution. There is no story line, just positive affirmations about uniqueness and differences being strengths. There is also no consistency to rhyme scheme, formatting, or even punctuation. Sometimes the second line is capitalized regardless of the punctuation that came before it; other times, it is not. Lines like "Everyone is unique in more ways than one and anyone and everyone is different and some" are simply confusing. The digital art shows a diverse group of children with different body types, skin tones, and abilities playing together, but many images have a generic clip-art feel. All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold is a better choice for diversity and inclusion. VERDICT Most libraries will want to skip this offering.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

School Library Journal