Looking Like Me

This audio-and-picture-book combination creates a seamless collage of color and sound, with a vibrant message of limitless dreams. Dion Graham's confident, enthusiastic narration powerfully depicts a young African-American boy who is beginning to identify who he is in the world. Quincy Tyler Bernstine adds a dynamic array of female voices. No detail is overlooked in this production. The background music lends a sense of anticipation to the opening credits and underscores the story with its laid-back groove. Realistic sound effects link the audio to the pictures and reflect the story's urban setting. Best of all, the book is fun! Its compelling poetry invites the audience on an adventure of self-discovery. A.M.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

October 5, 2009
This always-inventive father and son team (Jazz
) offers up an “I am jam,” celebrating how every individual is really a collection of identities. The rap-like verse is voiced by a young narrator named Jeremy, who notices that every person he encounters sees him in a different light: to his sister, he’s a little brother; to his teacher (whose real life counterparts may find inspiration in these pages for a memorable classroom activity), he’s a writer; to a cute passerby, he’s a dancer; to his mother, he’s a dreamer. Each new identity is hailed with an exuberant fist bump: “The mailman lifted his fist./ I gave it a bam!/ It is kind of amazing all the people I am.” Jeremy clearly enjoys the dizzying possibilities that emerge from his conversations, musing at one point, “I’m walking tall and I’m walking proud./ Looked in a mirror—I look like a crowd.” Christopher Myers seconds that emotion with fluorescent and occasionally psychedelic collages that combine digital human figures (reminiscent of early iPod ads) with photographs. He conjures up a funky, visually fluid funhouse that proves pigeonholes are strictly for pigeons. Ages 5–9.