One of A Kind, Like Me (Bilingual)

Title:  One of a Kind. Like Me /Unico Como Yo
Author: Laurin Mayeno  Illustrator: Robert Liu-Trujillo

Translation: Teresa Miawer

APA Bibliographic Information: Mayeno, L., & Liu-Trujillo, R. (2016). One of a kind, like me = Único como yo (T. Mlawer, Trans.). Oakland, CA: Blood Orange Press.

Genre: Fiction, Children's Literature

Lexile: 420L

⇒ Learn More About The Author of this book! Click here.

Summary: 

This book is about a very young boy named Daniel (also known as Danielito or Danny).  For Halloween, he decides that he wants to be a princess which is unique because we don't tend to see many boys chose this type of costume. All of his family supports him and go off to find him the perfect purple dress and silver tiara. Unable to find his dress, his mom helps him make one with separate pieces they find at a thrift store.  The next day at school he proudly puts on his dress and is greeted with some unkind comments from his peers.  They question why he is wearing a dress if he isn't a girl, he simply replies that its because he is unique. He is a little boy who stands up for who he is and I think that people who get bullied could learn from this.  Just because you are different does not mean others are allowed to pick at you and this book really reinforces this. 

Who Would Enjoy this book? (Targeted Audience) :

Anyone from Kindergarten to Third grade would really enjoy reading this book. It would be perfect for around the month of October when kids tend to dress up.  It would be a good book for a teacher that wants to promote acceptance in her classroom.  I had never read a book for children that talked about gender identity/diversity so it would be a perfect book for a child who is possibly going through something similar.  There are many kids who are afraid to be themselves and this book really teaches them that is alright to be different from everyone else. If you have a student or child who does not feel like they fit in, I would recommend this book for them. 

Evaluation Of Text: 

The author of this book is amazing because he created characters that aren't typically portrayed in many books.  Small children books don't usually talk about gender norms and how some kids might not like or feel like everyone else.  Kids will be able to identify with the character in many levels. 

Promotes Gender diversity and it shows how everyone from the parents, teachers, and peers should be accepting of one another. The text is in bilingual, meaning that its an inclusive book for both English and Spanish speakers. The pictures in every page of this book are very colorful and they did a very good job making sure that they illustrations captured the mood and emotions of all the characters. There is plenty of dialogue between Danielito and the people around them which makes it a lot more interesting to read as well. 

Reader Response Activity: 

An activity that you could do would be to have your students draw what they want to dress up as just like Danielito did. Ask them to think of something that they perhaps always wanted to dress up as but maybe were scared or embarrassed about what others might think of them.  I would then have them share with the class and perhaps as the teacher lead a discussion.  This would work best for a pre-K or kindergarden class because its an easy activity and many students really enjoy coloring at that age.