it sacrilegious to feel this way about a Walter Dean Myers book The opening lines are charming: "I looked in the mirror and what did I see A real handsome dude just looking at me".
But it's real downhill from there,
The collage aspects have some interesting and appealing components especially the photos of real children and NYC locations, but the mixture of paper collage and actual photographs is grating to the eye, and headache inducing to boot.
Perhaps if they were integrated differently, the effect would be more alluring and less repelling,
The repetition of the line "I gave it a bam!" has real read aloud appeal, However, lines that describe the narrator's grandmother's jewelry celebrating his existence come off as saccharine and forced, The encouragement to "have yourself an "I am" jam" is cheesy beyond belief,
I appreciate the intention of this book, but the execution was way off, Love the message of the book in building selfesteem and can see it being used in classrooms with "I Am" poems, but some of the flow skipped a bit and the illustration style was visually jarring to me.
I think this book really portrays the character finding who they are by describing different traits pertaining to them.
A beautiful book asking us to identify ourselves by what we are, not by how we look, When you look in a mirror, who do you see
A boy A girl
A son A daughter
A runner A dancer
Whoever and whatever you see
just put out your fist and give yourself an "I am" BAM!
This jumping, jazzy, joyful picture book by the awardwinning team of Walter Dean and Christoper Myers celebrates every child, and every thing that child can be.
I loved this book! The illustrations were captivating and the rhyming made it such a fun read, It was sophisticated yet made me feel like I was listening to the story being told from a young boys perspective.
Bam!
Be your best son, daughter, poet, writer, whoever! Fist pump!
Fun poetry, decoupage artwork and selfimage positivity! This book is fabolous.
I think the book was a little hard for my eyes but I think it was very cute and made you identify who you are and the words you use to describe who you are.
As Jeremy adds to his long list of words that describe him whether a little brother, a son, a writer, runner, dreamer or dancer" and fist bumps his family, teachers, and friends with a "BAM," it's hard not to smile at this empowering manifesto of a young boy who is celebrating all that he is and all that he does.
From the title, I thought that race would be brought in explicitly, as "looking" suggests defining oneself by his or her appearance, but Jeremy's nor the author or illustrator's race is not mentioned at all the closest definition we get is him defining himself by the region where he lives Harlem.
This omission does not keep this lovely book from being wise and a good choice for children of all backgrounds.
Christopher Myers' collages are bold and unusual as usual, In placing rainbow colored silhouettes against a background of personal photographs, Eastern art, and artwork inspired by the natural world, Myers provides a dizzying array of images that fit the vibe of the text.
This work is not my favorite in terms of artwork, but it does fit well and I can appreciate his technique.
The book ends by challenging the reader to define his or her self worth as well: "Why don't you find a mirror and some friends along the way Think of all the things you do and all the things they say.
Make a long list if you want to have yourself an "I am" jam, Then give yourself a great big smile and your fist a great big BAM!"
What a wonderful way for child and adult readers to celebrate their lives.
I really liked this book because I think it would be especially fun to do with children because of the interactive piece to it with the "bam" This book has great rhythm, and moves along at a nice pace.
The text is highly descriptive and even beautiful at times, Walter Dean Myers brings his unique writing touch to the story, and Christopher Myers's illustrations are intriguing,
Looking Like Me doesn't have a straightforward plot, but its primary focus is the rhythm and style of the writing, celebrating the diversity within the human community without emphasizing particular characters.
I would give this book one and a half, I loved this book it really helps put different labels on yourself other then what one can see from just looking at you.
The main idea of "Looking Like Me" is to show a child, that as an individual, they can be many different things a brother, a son, an artist, a runner.
The main character, Jeremy, looks in the mirror to see just himself, yet after passing his sister, grandmother, teacher, and many others he realized he was much more than just 'Jeremy.
' The genre of this text, by Walter Dean Myers, is fiction, . . more importantly named domestic fiction in the's,
As a literacy teacher I would use this story to show my students how they may be many different things in life, all of which are very important and make them their own individual.
I would create an activity for the children to go home and make their own "I Am" list by asking their family members, or peers, who they are to them.
I would also include "put out your fist and give it a BAM!" for my students in class as a way of praise.
Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem, and witnessed the Harlem Renaissance, As a matter of fact, one of his major pieces of writing was a poem, "Harlem, " You can sense this from his illustrations in his writing, which to me, look to evolve from city pictures and graffiti.
The illustrations of people in "Looking Like Me" resemble African Americans, and I believe this is a wonderful book to have in the classroom to demonstrate different races and cultures also.
By using unique and diverse pictures throughout the book, Myers grasp the attention of the children very well, allowing them to tune in and understand the concept of individualism in the book.
Myyearold daughter calls this the "Give it a Bam" book she and I both really enjoy it, My daughter bams my fist every time we read the repeated phrase "I put out my fist, she gave it a bam".
She loves the interactive fist bamming, She also loves the illustrations, They are done in a collage effect with photographs and cutouts of AfricanAmerican people in various bright colors, Some of the pictures could be viewed as disturbing, but they do not disturb my daughter she seems to delight in the bright colors and the unique, creative images.
She especially loves the cutout of the threeheaded person and the person who has eyes all over his torso.
Myyearold son also enjoys this book,
The text is a very rhythmic lyrical poem that can pull you right into the life of a young, hip, Harlem man.
Not being city people ourselves, I love the city flavor that the text and the illustrations provide, You can also feel the glow of this young man's selfpride as you read his selfaffirming poem, Then he challenges the reader to create his/her own "I am, Jam" at the close of the book.
This will be our goto book for a selfconfidence boost, This book is great for children in preschool and grade school,
School Library Journal Best Books:I LOVE this picture book! One of the most exciting things to me is the way in which I found it: I was reading Sharon Creechs wonderful book written in free verse, LOVE THAT DOG.
The main character is a young boy who narrates his journey, led by his classroom teacher, into the world of poetry and the wonderful things it can mean in and add to his life.
In the course of their poetry unit he is exposed to the poet Walter Dean Myers who quickly becomes his favorite after he reads Deans poem LOVE THAT BOY.
Reading Ms. Creechs book spurred me to investigate Mr, Walter Dean Myers and I found that he is not only a poet, but has a vast body of work for young adult and middle grade readers, as well as this fantastic picture book.
LOOKING LIKE ME refers to each individual looking in the mirror and seeing all of the people they are and all of the peaope they can be.
We are defined in terms of our relationships: mother, father, sister, brother, friend, We are defined by our likes and dislikes, We are defined by our talents,
The narrator of the book discovers not only can he create a list of the things that define him, but that he can discover things in himself of which he was unaware by listening to those around him.
For example, I might not realize I have a talent for drawing until someone I love and respect comments favorably on a drawing I have done.
I may not realize that compassion defines me until a friend I have helped says a heartfelt thank you when I take time out of my day to help or comfort her.
The book is illustrated in magnificent collage style by Christopher Myers the authors son, Its bold colors and shapes stand out from the page in a way that is accessible and recognizable to the reader.
Each time the narrator discovers a new characteristic about himself he gives the other person including himself in the mirror a fist bump.
I often use this action to make the story interactive with my listeners, whether it is my own children or a full classroom.
I have used this as a readaloud selection inrd andth grades, It is a magnificent discussion starter for all kinds of topics related to selfesteem and how we become and define ourselves.
It lends itself as a great introduction to art activities using selfexpression and collage technique, It can also be used to begin teaching brainstorming or interviewing techniques to be used in writing assignments later in the year.
It is a great conversation starter at home for selfesteem issues as well,
I highly recommend this picture book for
both classroom and home libraries,
.