Review: WHOEVER YOU ARE by Mem Fox

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fox, Mem. 1997. Whoever You Are. Ill. by Leslie Staub. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co. ISBN 0152007873.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A group of children are carried around the world by a spirit-like being dressed in a blue cloud-printed suit and hat with a yellow feather sticking out. On their journey they experience that although children around the world may look different and their homes may be different from their own, they all share similar emotions and are just alike on the inside.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this enlightening story of tolerance and acceptance, a magical guide carries children of various ethnicities around the world in his arms to show them how children live in other parts of the world. Fox touches the heart when she tells how we all experience love and joy while at the same time, pain and bleeding are also shared by everyone. Children are taught that some things, like emotions, transcend skin color, language, and geographical differences. The repetitive verse will surely engage young readers while the themes of tolerance will speak to older children. Fox wisely encourages children to remember these lessons even after they are grown to reiterate that acceptance does not end with childhood.

The illustrations in Whoever You Are are colorful and eccentric enough to catch the interest of the child reader. Staub chose to frame each page with bejeweled gold edges giving the illustrations a decidedly foreign appeal. The depictions of the different cultures are basic enough to appeal to young children but still offer a genuine view into the various locales. The landscapes are vivid and detailed. She has drawn the eyes of each character bright and wide-open making them appear to be looking directly at the reader.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Fox has composed a simple refrain to celebrate human connections in this lovely picture book. "Little one, whoever you are," she explains, there are children all over the world who may look different, live in different homes and different climates, go to different schools, and speak in different tongues but all children love, smile, laugh, and cry. Their joys, pain, and blood are the same.”

KIRKUS review: “The faces of the little ones in Staub's paintings are as appealing as dolls', and a beatific paternal figure in a sky-blue suit printed with clouds floats through the pages with a bevy of children in his arms. An essential book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity.”

5. CONNECTIONS
Whoever You Are is a wonderful way to introduce young children to the many different cultures that make up our world. It can be used to begin any multicultural unit or just as a quick read to remind children that even though not everyone looks the same, they are all the same on the inside.

Other books that help teach tolerance:
Katz, Karen. The Colors of Us. ISBN: 0805071636.
Fox, Mem. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. ISBN: 015206057X.
Monk, Isabell. Hope. Ill. by Janice Lee Porter. ISBN: 1575057921.
Parr, Todd. The Peace Book. ISBN: 0316043494.