You be You by Linda Kranz

You be You

Linda Kranz

Taylor Trade Publishing

October 16, 2011

32 Pages

Picture book/Fiction

     This book was shown to me by my sister. She is a teacher as well. She bought the book for her son who is was in kindergarten at the time. This story shows that there are many different types of people in the world. Everyone has their own way of doing something but it is okay to just be yourself. The story is told by using a fish named Adri. Adri notices some of the fish in the ocean swimming in circles, others were swimming to the left, while the others were swimming to the right. Adri is amazed at the number of fish and all of the different behaviors each of them have. Adri's mother was the voice of reason in this story saying "Life is a grand journey, you be you". 

     The illustrations in this book were done with acrylic paints. The book had a flat finish. Every page was filled with beautiful and colorful pictures. The colors were very bright and vivid. There were patterns of fish covering some of the pages. These pages served a purpose. The purpose is to search for Adri. 

     This book is appropriate for kindergarten all the way up to fourth or fifth grade. It is a great book that teaches children about being yourself and holding your head up high. This book serves more than just one purpose is one of the reasons I love it so much. Similarities and differences can be taught and discovered using this book because on one page it will have words like left and right and then it will talk about up and down. This theme is played out throughout the book. Vocabulary could also be taught using this book. There are so many important words children need to know such as high and low, right and left, same and different. The illustrations could be used in a classroom to talk about pattern discrimination. This book has no awards.