Someone Like Me

Starred review from May 22, 2017
Newbery Medalist MacLachlan’s incantatory picture book memoir draws readers in from its first words: “If you were a little girl/ who listened to stories/ over and over/ and over...” Using delicate shading and pale hues, Sheban (What to Do with a Box) draws a girl listening as an elderly woman talks, then shows the child seated at the feet of a man in a feed cap, his arms stretched wide, as if describing a prize catch. MacLachlan journeys through her past—a girl who read constantly, climbed trees, and tried “to teach her dog to talk by moving his lips like hers”—to see what made her the person she became, who “writes about talking dogs/ and chickens who scratch stories in the dirt.” Sheban’s scenes are bathed in golden light, and his faded palette and soft textures evoke a spare upbringing: simple clothing, old cars, a worn-out suitcase. MacLachlan suggests that it isn’t extensive travels or grand experiences that make a writer; all that’s needed is the willingness to watch and listen. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

June 1, 2017
When does someone truly learn the gift of writing and storytelling? Newbery Medalist MacLachlan takes her trademark elegant writing to the picture-book level with this semiautobiographical charmer.Spare and intimate, the narrative speaks directly to readers, inviting them to see glimpses of memories that catch the imagination. "If you were a little girl who listened to stories," the text begins as a white-haired grandmother walks with a mop-haired girl, both white. Under MacLachlan's smooth hand, a flood of images returns: the little girl hiding under the dinner table to hear the grown-ups telling secrets; a sweet hound dog "taught" to talk by little fingers pulling on his lips; a small bag of sweet prairie earth to remember from where she came. She is inspired by the people in her past, the simple nature around her home, and her own vivid dreams. Illustrations by Sheban, done in watercolor, colored pencil and graphite, use light and shadow to give each page a warm, earthy glow. The images are soft and dreamlike in their gentleness, as if veiled by a scrim with an invitation to come and look closer. "You might be someone like me, / A writer." An inspiring choice for fertile young minds trying to find their voices by seeing the world around them. (Picture book. 4-8)

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May 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-This autobiographical picture book follows a gentle series of experiences that led the author to be who she is, "a writer." Speaking directly to readers, she begins with, "If you were a little girl who listened to stories over and over and over." MacLachlan continues in this vein, recounting things that helped make her a writer, including constantly reading, secretly listening to adults from under the dinner table, trying to make her dog and chicken speak, and having a great-grandmother who loved the prairie earth. Sheban matches the author's recollections with graphite, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations. He deftly makes use of white space, a muted palette, and subtle humor. The picture of MacLachlan moving her dog's lips is guaranteed to make readers smile. VERDICT Just the right amount of text paired with spot-on illustrations makes this a great book for aspiring writers or a lovely read-aloud for anyone. Sure to be popular because of the author's recognition.-Catherine Callegari, Reston Regional Library, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2017
Preschool-G *Starred Review* In this beautiful picture book, MacLachlan offers a string of brief, poetic vignettes that add up to an impressionistic memoir (real or imagined) of childhood and a recognition of how early inclinations, experiences, and family ties contribute to identity. A woman addresses a child in a companionable tone, beginning with the inviting words: If you were a little girl / who listened to stories / over and over / and over and read books day and night, and hid under the dinner table listening to grown-ups telling secrets, and once ran away with a little boy who promised to find you a white horse, and returned when he didn't you might be someone like / me, / a writer. The evocative telling of these and other memories becomes as important as their content. And the artwork raises the book to another level entirely. Viewers are transported into the narrator's past and then brought back to the present on the last page, which shows her as an adult, writing. Created with watercolors, colored pencils, and graphite, Sheban's well-structured illustrations are gently shaded, subtly colored, and suffused with soft light. Lovely scenes are balanced with amusing ones, giving this expressive picture book its irresistible, down-to-earth charm.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)