Book-A-Day 8: Looking Like Me

Looking Like Me

Written by: Walter Dean Myers

Illustrated by: Christopher Myers

What do you see when you look in the mirror?  As you gaze at your reflection what are the many parts of you that stare back? What do others see in you?  How are you defined by others?  I absolutely adore this book because it gets the reader thinking about the many roles they play in their life that define who they are as a person.  I am not simply Mrs. Cole...I am also a mother, daughter, teacher, friend, artist, and dreamer.  And for each of these things I could explain why by telling you about my life.  This book celebrates all the different roles we play in our daily lives.  It celebrates the unique attributes present in each of us and most importantly helps children see all the many ways they are special and contribute to the world.  

This book would be a wonderful title to help build a sense of community within your class.  Each student could create their own "Who I Am" statements modeled after that of Walter Dean Myers.  Using these "I am" statements, students could find others in the class with whom they share things in common.  It could serve as a great getting to know you activity at the start of the year.  Using their "I am" statements students can create their own Looking Like Me book.  Take it one step further by having them create their own paper/photo collages to accompany their words.  How wonderful it would be to see students books scattered around the classroom or school library showcasing all their unique qualities.  You could also use iBook Author, Voicethread, FlipGrid, or a number of other tools to create a digital interpretation of their books that could be shared beyond the walls of the classroom.

The author and illustrator are a collaborative father/son team.  The father Walter Dean Myers provides the prose that reads more like a song than a story and his son Christopher creates collage illustrations using a mix of mediums that include both paper and photographs layered against one another.   The last page in the book introduces the reader to each of these men through the same repetitive prose that was used throughout the book.  "We've looked in the the mirror and what did we see?  Two handsome dudes and a....." the illustration goes on to use the many words they chose to describe themselves.  

To learn more about Walter Dean Myers click here or check out his author interview here.  Watch this interview to learn more about the illustrator Christopher Myers..