When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth

by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell (Illustrator)

Overview

“Exuberant—a winsome, upbeat work.” —Publishers Weekly

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell perfectly capture a little girl's simple, joyous celebration of herself, as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty height of four and a half years.

This spirited view of growing up is perfect to share at home or in a classroom, as kids will respond to the exuberant pleasures of growing freedom and independence.

"When I was little, I could hardly do anything. But now I can do lots of things, like braid my own hair and go to nursery school. I'm not a baby anymore. I'm me!"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060210786
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/30/1993
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	483,693
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	AD460L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jamie Lee Curtis has had many firsts: her first (and only) marriage to Christopher Guest, her first time holding her children, Annie and Tom, her first time pretending to be a customer in an episode of Quincy, and her first time she wrote words that became her first book. She lives in Los Angeles, the first city she ever lived in, and is always first in line, first to arrive, first to leave, and first to sleep.

Laura Cornell lives in New York City with her daughter, Lily (first and only), but they spend much time in California, Laura's first state in her first home. She was asked to illustrate Jamie's first book, and that became ten. Lucky is the first word that comes to mind.

Editorial Reviews

Exuberant—a winsome, upbeat work.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Her rollicking enthusiasm is infectious, especially in the joyous, chaotic, colorful watercolors

Los Angeles Times Book Review

In her first book, Curtis capitalizes on the notion that kids love hearing about themselves as babies and takes it one delicious step further by having a four-year-old tell on herself. In a playful first-person narrative, the sprightly young miss describes the many ways she has left babyhood behind: no more "silly hair" or wearing "floaties" in the pool, no more eating "goo and yucky stuff." In keeping with the lively text, the watercolor illustrations are a congenial, colorful scramble, with many freewheeling, double-page spreads showing the little girl as both baby and preschooler. Despite the confusion this occasionally causes, the artwork's good humor perfectly matches the jaunty air of the words and beautifully captures the narrator, naughty and nice, happy and proud.

Stephanie Zvirin