Me, Myselfie & I

July 30, 2018
The obsession all began, the narrator explains, with a birthday gift: “Mom is old-fashioned. She likes things hand sewn. To make her more modern, we bought a smartphone.” In their characteristic style, Curtis and Cornell (This Is Me) stretch this premise to outlandish lengths: besotted, Mom incessantly clicks selfies with her family, and then carries her fixation outside the home, taking pics of herself at a party store, a supermarket—other shoppers also fanatically snap selfies—and ski practice, until her new hobby wears thin (“Will this never end?”). One especially over-the-top self-portrait shows Mom with birthday cake smeared all over her head; the picture goes viral online, further fueling her zeal until the narrator insists on turning off all screens in favor of family reading and cuddling time. The narrative’s rhythm and rhyme scheme can be strained, as when Mom drags out her camera on the ski slope (“Whole ski-team selfie./ She’s a selfie fool./ Coaches act silly./ Kids too cool for school.”), but there’s no denying the merit of this raucous tale’s message. Ages 4–8.

September 1, 2018

K-Gr 3-This book gives taking selfies a different twist. A family gives their old-fashioned mother a smartphone for her birthday. The children are eager to teach her how to take selfies. Is this a good idea? The woman realizes the fun she can have and takes selfies with everyone she can find. She starts with her family, pets, and then moves on to the mail carrier. No one is safe from her phone. She and the kids make silly faces in stores and while doing homework for a great selfie. Pretty soon the kids are tired of it. They realize that the pictures don't look good-just fake. The pets seem to have had enough too. They need to put a stop to it. But how? The story is told in clever verse and is full of current "phone terms." The characters in the colorful illustrations are exaggerated and humorous. A little gem at the end of the book depicts various uses for a cell phone when it is not being used as a phone. VERDICT A worthwhile family read.-Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA

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