Looking Like Me

October 5, 2009
This always-inventive father and son team (Jazz
) offers up an “I am jam,” celebrating how every individual is really a collection of identities. The rap-like verse is voiced by a young narrator named Jeremy, who notices that every person he encounters sees him in a different light: to his sister, he’s a little brother; to his teacher (whose real life counterparts may find inspiration in these pages for a memorable classroom activity), he’s a writer; to a cute passerby, he’s a dancer; to his mother, he’s a dreamer. Each new identity is hailed with an exuberant fist bump: “The mailman lifted his fist./ I gave it a bam!/ It is kind of amazing all the people I am.” Jeremy clearly enjoys the dizzying possibilities that emerge from his conversations, musing at one point, “I’m walking tall and I’m walking proud./ Looked in a mirror—I look like a crowd.” Christopher Myers seconds that emotion with fluorescent and occasionally psychedelic collages that combine digital human figures (reminiscent of early iPod ads) with photographs. He conjures up a funky, visually fluid funhouse that proves pigeonholes are strictly for pigeons. Ages 5–9.

Starred review from November 1, 2009
Gr 1-5-The dynamic father-son duo returns with another high-energy poetry book. "Looking Like Me" is a song of oneself, and of all of the elements that make up and define an individual. On first looking in the mirror, Jeremy sees "a real handsome dude/looking just like me." When friends and family see him, he discovers that he is also a brother, a son, a writer, a city childa whole world in one self. The poetry sings with Walter Dean Myers's trademark urban verve. Jeremy punctuates his encounters by fist-bumping his family members and associates and exclaiming "I gave it [the fist] a BAM!" This now-familiar gesture powerfully expresses the solidarity Jeremy feels with the others in his community. Moreover, these encounters underline how his relationships shape his perceptions of himself. The rhyme and repetition flow naturally, capturing the rhythms of everyday conversation and the hip-hop beats many children hear daily. Christopher Myers's bold, vivid illustrations fuel the energy of his father's verse. Bright paper cutouts of the characters stand before photo collages that capture lively occasions in a variety of cultures. These paper figures are blue, green, and other colors that do not correspond to natural skin tones. Children of any ethnic background thus can project themselves onto the silhouettes. This book is an excellent introduction to verse, for it vividly demonstrates how poetry is a vital part of daily life."Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2009
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* Walt Whitman once wrote, I contain multitudes, and that important concept is brilliantly interpreted here by the Myers father-son partnership. The elder Myers rhythmic poem celebrates a young Everyman from Harlem who looks in the mirror to see a real handsome dude looking just like me. Moving through the city, he encounters family and friends who share their points of view: Along came my sister, / fine as she can be. / Hey, Jeremy, she said, / Youre little brother to me. Each helps him see that he is a valued artist, runner, dreamer, and more, and that he has a lot to give to himself and the world. The innovative art and design represent different identities with colorful silhouettes placed against photos of people, places, and icons. Sometimes the connections are more obvious, like the photo of a sun, which plays on the word son, and there is an image of a stingray accompanying Jeremys reference to himself as a silver-rayed moonbeamer; other images, such as Buddha heads, giraffes, and ketchup bottles, suggest more abstract connections. The overall effect is that of performers in front of a huge screen of rapidly changing images at a pop concert or a video game, and blocks of solid color provide visual rest and keep the gutters clear. This very contemporary work is encouraging, energetic, and inspired.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
"I looked in the mirror / and what did I see? / A real handsome dude / looking just like me." The poem-text has swagger and bounce as the narrator celebrates everything that makes him who he is. Collage illustrations present Matisse-like cutouts of human figures in hot, strong colors against almost abstractly cropped photos that suggest a world brimming with riches.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2009
Self-esteem picture books have taken some abuse in these pages (see Daniel Greenstone's "Ain't I Great!: The Problem with Self-Esteem," November/December 2008), but even the more curmudgeonly among us might appreciate the message when it's dressed up as fine as it is in this picture book by Myers pere et fils. The poem-text has both swagger and bounce ("I looked in the mirror / and what did I see? / A real handsome dude / looking just like me") as young Jeremy celebrates, in cumulating verses, all the people, places, and things that make him who he is: he's his sister's brother, his father's son, a writer to his teacher, and so on. Each verse ends with variations on an irresistible chorus: "She put out her fist. / I gave it a bam! / I added dancer / to the answer / of just who I am!" Christopher Myers's collage illustrations present Matisse-like cutouts of human figures in hot, strong colors against almost abstractly cropped photos -- a parade, a boxing ring, animals at the zoo -- that suggest a world brimming with riches.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)