Children's Lit Book Reviews

Monday, April 5, 2010






























Children Just Like Me
By: Anabel Kindersley
Publisher: DK Publishing
Copyright: 1995
Pages: 80
Reading Level: 9-12
Genre: Non-Fiction
"The candid, approachable text, accompanying quotes, and nuggets of information make the lives of these children as vivid as a friend's."
-Family Fun

Summary: From a Bedouin village in Jordan to the heart of Hollywood, children are introduced to a wide variety of cultures and places. The Kindersley's take you directly into the life of children throughout the world and allow the reader to get a small glimpse of what life is like outside their own country. For example, meet Edgar Flores. He is an eight year old pinoy from the Philippines. His father purchases oysters from local farmers and then shucks them and turns around and sells them to the restaurants around his village. His brother also works along with his father and that work helps to supply the family needs. Like most Filipinos, Edgar and his family are Catholic and attend church at a nearby building. Unlike most children, Edgar has a pet chicken because one day his pet dog somehow disappeared, never to return. Then, on the other side of the world, Anabel invites readers to meet Nicole from Hollywood. Nicole lives a completely different lifestyle then Edgar. She has access to the modern interventions that Edgar is unable to have. However, both children have something in common and that is they both love their families dearly. Kindersley, through photographs, helps fulfil children's imagination and fascination for other cultures.
Who would benefit from reading this book? I think that all children should read this book. This book will help children learn and understand different cultures. It will also help children be more accepting of other peoples differences by showing them that, even though they are separated by miles and miles, they could still have some similarities. This is a great book for teachers to use as well as parents to borrow from the local libraries.
What problems/concerns could this book potentially cause? I don't think that this book will cause any problems. This book was sponsored by UNICEF and promotes child safety and unity throughout the world.
My reaction: I learned so much from this informational book. I especially loved reading about Edgar Flores who is from my country of birth. I sometimes wonder if I had not been adopted if I would have lived a life very similar to Edgar Flores. I think that the illustrations or pictures help tell the child's story. However I do think that it might be a little bit difficult for younger readers to understand. But I will still recommend this book to everyone and even place this book in my classroom when I eventually become a teacher.

posted by Jon Dale at 11:10 AM

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