You Be You

by Linda Kranz

Overview

When little Adri sets out to explore the ocean, he has no idea how colorful the world is. He quickly discovers that there are all kinds of fish in the deep blue sea—big and tiny, smooth and spiny, colorful and plain, different and the same. In this companion book to the best-selling Only One You, Kranz uses her famous rockfish to convey the message of beauty in difference in a vibrant and engaging way that will get kids hooked. Now in board book for younger children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589797475
Publisher:	Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date:	02/16/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	4 - 5 Years

About the Author

Linda Kranz, winner of the IRA Children’s Choices Award, is the author of eight journals and a craft book, as well as the bestselling Only One You. Linda lives with her husband in Flagstaff, Arizona. Together they enjoy discovering new landscapes in and around the Southwest and returning to their longtime favorite places, again and again.

Editorial Reviews

With its universal theme that life is the greatest journey of all as well as its celebration of the differences between all creatures, You Be You offers a positive message to readers of all ages. In addition, parents can share with their children the homilies featured on the endpapers and children can search for Adri swimming among the other fish. These features, plus Kranz’s whimsical illustrations, ensure that You Be You will be an instant favorite of young and emergent readers or anyone looking for a little encouragement during trying times.

Vegbooks

With its strong positive message, You Be You is an ideal choice for parents to read to young children at storytime or bedtime.

Midwest Book Review

The follow-up to Kranz’s Only One You features dozens of small, smooth stones painted to look like rainbow-colored fish; each one bears a slightly different pattern of design and color, reinforcing the story’s theme of difference. It has the same hero, too—Adri, who spends his day noticing the many kinds of fish in the ocean: “Some fish are colorful,/ Some fish are plain./ Some fish look different./ Some fish look the same.” Photo images of waves and sky serve as a backdrop: the “plain” fish are inked in black but left uncolored, while the colorful ones are festooned with Peter Max–style dots, stripes, and rainbows. “We can learn so much from each other,” says Adri’s Papa, when Adri returns home to share his discovery with his parents. “Life is a grand journey,” adds Adri’s mother. “You be you.” The combination of the colorful, jewellike objects and affirmative messages is likely to make this book as popular as Kranz’s first, which has a loyal following. An added bonus: readers can hunt for Adri, who’s hidden among the other fish on every page. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

...[A] fun book with a valuable lesson.

Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

You Be You brings a whole new level of excitement to painted rocks. A rounded, smooth rock is a limited canvas, but Kranz’s design and the variety of patterns on the rocks makes the book worthwhile before you even read a single word. I looked through the entire book and marveled at the painting and design before I went back to read it.

Raising Arizona Kids

Named one of Huffington Post's 50 Inspiring Children's Books with a Positive Message.

The Huffington Post

There are many fish in the sea--and they are all different. Adri, a winsome fish, spends the day exploring, and as he heads home, he can't help but notice variety in the assortment of finned creatures that surround him. In this companion to the earlier Only One You (2006), which presented Chicken Soup–type advice to the same young fish, Kranz escapes didacticism and provides young readers with an appealing look at diversity. Primarily focused on opposites such as right and left, up and down, big and tiny, smooth and spiny, the bouncy, rhymed text points out differences, while colorful fish swim through the pages illustrating the aforementioned variations. If there is a flaw in Kranz's stylistic rockfish, it is that the differences are not always obvious, as all of the fish have a similar look, but this will serve to make children examine the pictures more closely. Presented with clarity, the distinctions are nicely summarized by Adri himself when he returns to his parents: "There are so many of us…We all have something special that only we can share." Youngsters will enjoy the catchiness of the text and the lively nature of the illustrations, while appreciating the concepts found within, and parallels can easily be drawn to differences of all sorts. A good choice to help children consider similarities and differences. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews