Like
by Annie Barrows; illus. by Leo Espinosa
Preschool, Primary    Chronicle    40 pp.
9/22    9781452163376    $17.99

“You are you, and I am I. We are people…This makes us different from most of the things on Earth.” Head crowned with a mass of brown curly hair, this book’s narrator speaks directly to readers, guiding them through several silly yet thought-provoking comparisons. Do humans have anything in common with tin cans? No. “We are not shaped like tin cans. We cannot hold tomato sauce like tin cans.” Humans have some minor similarities to swimming pools (water) and excavators (digging, but not as efficiently), but a person is “way more like a mushroom” and has even more in common with a hyena. Barrows’s (the Ivy + Bean chapter books) straightforward text seems at first to be an exercise in comparing living and nonliving things, but it’s ultimately a lesson in empathy toward our fellow humans. “I am more like you than I am like most of the things on Earth.” Espinosa’s (The World Belonged to Us, rev. 7/22) bold, blocky, and vibrant illustrations enhance the text’s humor and heart with the punch of a pop-art palette. A compelling thought-experiment with a powerful, effective, and timely message.

From the January/February 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.