Children Just Like Me

Title: Children Just Like Me

Author: Anabelle Kindersley, Barnabus Kindersley, UNICEF

Publisher: DK Children

Date 1995

Number of pages: 80 Pages

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Genre: Nonfiction - Informational

Summary: A look at children from around the world. The authors spent two years meeting and photographing youngsters from every continent and more than 140 countries. The volume is divided by continent, which is introduced with photos of children, their names, and nationalities. Readers will meet children like Carlitos, a boy who lives on an Argentine ranch in a three bedroom house and rides horses and drinks Mate tea. -- Or Suchart, from Thailand, a 12 year old Buddhist monk in training who lives in a small hut on stilts, has no toys, and starts his day begging for alms in his small village. He likes the cats who live in the temple, and is always losing his sandals because he has to take them off before he goes into the temple and forgets where he left them. -- And Thi Lien, in Vietnam who wears beautiful batik died traditional clothes made by her mother, helps feed the families chickens and harvest rice, and collects firewood. -- And Celina, who lives in the Amazon Rain Forrest of Brazil in a mud brick two room hut. She likes to paint herself with die made from a local root every day, and has never worn shoes. She likes to take the canoe out on the river her family lives near.There is information about each child's favorite activities, what they eat, what they wear, pictures of their home, family members, religious practices, and special things about their cultures. This book has many children from Australia, Africa, The Americas, The Philippines, Europe, Asia, India, and more.Then a double-page spread features pictures of each child's food, eating utensils, housing, school, friends, and family. The text gives the young people a chance to comment on their favorite games, friends, and hopes for the future. The final section includes excerpts from the Kindersleys' travel diary. This book is factual, respectful, and insightful.

My Reaction:  It provides just the right balance of information and visual interest for the intended audience. Each page is a direct look into the life, and culture of a different individual. I have enjoyed looking at all the children in this book and reading about how they live. Even though it's for children, anyone can enjoy this book. I only wish it had more children to meet. This book shows how children and people everywhere have the same thoughts, and fun, even though they may live in vastly different conditions.

Potential Problems: Each page has so much information, it's almost too much to look at all at one time. The pages can be somewhat distracting with how much information is contained on each page.

My Recommendation: A great teaching tool to be used inside every home to teach new culture, and diversities of the world. As a child engages themselves on each page, they will learn acceptance and tolerance to those who are "different" from them. It also helps bring to mind, that the world is a large place - and it remains to be explored by anyone and everyone who finds the desire to embark on an adventure.