Bein' with You This Way

My son is only 2 years old and he enjoys this book tremendously. The illustrations and words in this book captivates his attention. I do not really care for the recording tape which comes with the book, but the book itself is great. I usually do the rap and sing the words of the book myself without the tape. My son gets a kick out of that. He already knows the words of the book and likes to sing it. This book is a great learning tool to teach children about diversity and multiculturalism.

My daughter is 5 years old. She's no stranger to learning about differences between people's appearances, but this book was different in a positive, important way. Half-way through our first reading, she said for the first time ever "hey mama it just doens't matter what who [anyone] looks like!" She also picked up the repetitive, sing-songy-ness of this book after only a couple pages, retelling me the story as we went. She has requested for me to read this book more than any other & she continues telling it happily to herself while she plays. I believe this is an excellent addition to any home or early childhood education library, but especially for the musically inclined kids.

What a wonderful, versatile book. I teach a 4-year old Pre-K class and I originally chose this book because it focuses on the fact that while people may all be different from each other physically, we can all enjoy each other's company. I have a very mixed class racially, and it is always a priority of mine to have available literature who's illustrations portray a range of races, especially books that do not specifically deal with a race's holiday or special event. I want to draw attention to the fact that we do not only see non-white, non-"typical" children only at certain times of the year. When I got the book out from the library and began reading it, I discovered that it was also enjoyable to read and listen to. It's writing has a very rhythmic, sing-song quality that appeals to my students. The art work is a mix of watercolor and colored pencil, and depicts people of all races and ages playing together at a park. My children regularly pick this book out of the book area and ask that I read it to them, and as they hear it more and more they begin to speak parts along with me. What a joy it is to have a book that really reaches out to my children that strongly. I have just added the book to my wish list so that I can have a copy for myself, and hope that my own children enjoy it as much as I do so I continue to have a reason to read it at home as well as at school.

We used this book in my fourth grade classroom to present a puppet show. We made a back stop and the kids made puppets with various different features. We taped the story and as the tape played the puppets performed. Very cute, multi-cultural, and the kids had a blast!