Like You, Like Me

by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

Overview

★ "A wonderful celebration of global friendship." —Bookpage, starred review

"This story encourages young people to focus on the similarities that connect us in one human family. Highly recommended for all collections." —School Library Journal

"Two pen pals delight in their differences and commonalities.... Bright, mixed-media illustrations visually emphasize difference as a means of connection." —Kirkus Reviews

A pen pal picture book companion to the award-winning and bestselling Same, Same but Different—set in the United States and Tanzania—that celebrates the value of compassion, curiosity, and a global community. 

Tulsi and Vanessa live on separate continents—one in the mountains in North America, and the other beside the sea in Africa. By exchanging letters, they learn that they both have prankster brothers, love music, and collect treasures from nature. Their daily sights and sounds may be different, but their feelings about their experiences hold many similarities.

This thoughtful story celebrates the connections between two kids who live worlds apart. Together they rejoice in their shared love of family, friends, and community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316330084
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	361,931
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw is the creator of the acclaimed books Papa Brings Me the World; Luna & Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest; My Travelin’ Eye; and Same, Same but Different, for which she won the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award and the South Asia Book Award, among others. Jenny lives on a homestead in the mountains of northern New Mexico where she homeschools her children, and makes her books in a studio she and her family built with their own hands. She invites you to visit her online at jennysuekosteckishaw.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Like You, Like Me:

* "Through collages made from painted papers and oil sticks, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw has created a vibrant celebration of global connectedness based on the author’s daughter and her real-life pen pal… a wonderful celebration of global friendship."—Bookpage, starred review

"Two girls, one living in the mountains of Northern New Mexico, the other living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, connect via a library pen pal program… in the end, the girls find that they can see one another clearly and recognize the power of friendship. Offering readers a chance to share what makes their homes and lives unique, this story also encourages young people to focus on the similarities that connect us in one human family. Highly recommended for all collections."
 —School Library Journal

"In this companion to Same, Same but Different, two pen pals delight in their differences and commonalities…. Every shared detail shrinks the distance between northern New Mexico and the Tanzanian coast until the pair are all but face-to-face in their mutual understanding. The gently paced text moves smoothly from one letter to the next. Bright, mixed-media illustrations visually align the children’s busy lives with balanced, reflective spreads that defy the barrier of the gutter and emphasize difference as a means of connection. Charming."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

02/01/2024

PreS-Gr 3—Two girls, one living in the mountains of Northern New Mexico, the other living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, connect via a library pen pal program. Differences are highlighted, but commonalities are easily found when people from different places and cultures engage their curiosity and listen closely. In one exchange, Tulsi shares that she has two homes in New Mexico, one made of mud and also "a tiny house on wheels for adventures," and then Vanessa shares that she has two homes also: "One with my mom and one with my dad." Illustrations made with painted papers and sticks capture the very specific and contrasting settings, but in the end, the girls find that they can see one another clearly and recognize the power of friendship. VERDICT Offering readers a chance to share what makes their homes and lives unique, this story also encourages young people to focus on the similarities that connect us in one human family. Highly recommended for all collections.—John Scott

School Library Journal

2023-10-07
In this companion to Same, Same but Different (2011), two pen pals delight in their differences and commonalities.

Tulsi, a light-skinned child in New Mexico, and Vanessa, a Black-presenting child in Tanzania, begin writing to each other as part of a library pen pal program. Tulsi lives in the mountains; Vanessa lives by the sea. Vanessa takes a long city bus ride to school; Tulsi is homeschooled. Tulsi rarely sees rain, but when it does, the child rushes outside to dance; Vanessa prefers to cuddle up with a book during the rainy season. Their differences are fascinating and innumerable, but each one also brings them closer together. The woods near Tulsi’s house may smell like butterscotch, while Vanessa’s city is awash in the scent of frangipani, but both pen pals love their homes’ perfumes—“like you, like me!” Vanessa daydreams of racing like a cheetah, while Tulsi wishes to soar like a red-tailed hawk, but both agree that riding a bike is the next best thing. Every shared detail shrinks the distance between northern New Mexico and the Tanzanian coast until the pair are all but face to face in their mutual understanding. The gently paced text moves smoothly from one letter to the next. Bright, mixed-media illustrations visually align the children’s busy lives with balanced, reflective spreads that defy the barrier of the gutter and emphasize difference as a means of connection.

Charming. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews