Just Like Brothers

posted on April 24, 2018 by Eve Panzer

Just Like Brothers – a new book from Barefoot Books

I have been selling Barefoot Books for over a decade – in fact my book selling career started when I became a direct seller for Barefoot Books.  I was impressed by their books for many reasons. At a time when multicultural books were almost non-existent, all their books were diverse. The artwork was beautiful and engaging. The language was rich and embraced global messages. Their books continue to deliver which is why I am still selling them as a children’s bookseller.

Just Like Brothers is the latest release from Barefoot Books and it is a gem. There is so much to love about this book! The author is very playful with language coupling words to create her own new words. For instance, she describes the woods in the story as “…tree-thick and thorny-twisty.” Immediately a vibrant picture pops in the reader’s mind. There is not a lot of text on each page and the text is large and easy to read. The illustrations are colorful and playful.

The messages drawn from this book are timeless: empathy, respect, tolerance, integrity, curiosity, independence, friendship, courage and being open-mined.  This book is a perfect spring-board for so many important discussions to have with children.  The characters in the book are a wolf mother and her cub and a human mother and her child. Each mother warns their off-spring about the dangers of the other species.

The human mother tells her child: “Never wander in the woods where the wolves howl. For you are small and sweet as honey and the wolves are wild. They are long-snout and sharp-tooth; they are rough-fur and claw-paw. But the brown-eyed child is moon-mind and shut-ear and he doesn’t listen to his mother.  Instead he chases rabbits.”

The wolf mother tells her cub: “Never wander in the woods where the men prowl. For you are small and sweet as acorns and the men are mean. They are heavy-foot and spy-eye; they are rough-hand and jab-stick. But the grey-furred cub is wag-tail and scamper-paw and he doesn’t listen to his mother. Instead he chases rabbit.”

Of course, the paths of the cub and the boy cross. They think about what their mothers told them. However the reality in front of them is very different – and they both enjoy chasing rabbits. So they put away their fears and their mothers’ warnings and play together. This says so much about stereotyping. How meeting one on one and getting to know each helps us see how much we have in common. And that our differences make us unique, but not enemies.

This book is highly recommended!

I received a review copy from Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC / Publisher Spotlight.

Just Like Brothers

Publisher: Barefoot Books 2018

Format:  Paperback

ISBN: 978-1782853466

Price: $8.99

Author:  Elizabeth Baguley

Illustrator:  Aurelie Blanz

Ages: 4 +

Genre: Fiction – picture book

Educators Tips

IB Ties/Emotional Intelligence: empathy, respect, tolerance, integrity, curiosity, independence, friendship, courage, being open-mined.

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