Multicultural Books: Whoever You Are

Title: Whoever You Are 

Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Leslie Staub

Genre: Non-Fiction

Major Awards:  N/A
Age Group: 5-7 years old

All around the world, there are people who are different than us. They may have different skin colors, homes, languages, and ways of life, but at the end of the day, we all have the same heart. Everyone despite their differences smiles, laughs, hurts, and cries all the same. Human emotion and experience connect us all. We all experience joy, love, and pain. All around the world, everyone is different, but it’s our differences that make us each unique individuals. Nevertheless, one important thing that connects everyone from all over the world whoever, or wherever they are is that we all have a heart.

Whoever You Are is a nice book that would make a good addition to any kindergarten- 2nd-grade classroom library. Although, the book is one of the shorter stories that I’ve read, it has a beautiful message for students. From reading the story, I found that the overall theme of the story was connection. Although we may come from different places and backgrounds, we have things that connect us all. I think especially for younger students, this is a great story to use to read in the beginning of the school year. Students can be introduced to the idea that in the classroom there will be people who are different from them, but what connects them is that everyone is at school to have fun and learn together. Moreover, everyone should be nice to one another and treat everyone with respect.