Synopsis
When you look in a mirror, who do you see?
A boy? A girl?
A son? A daughter?
A runner? A dancer?
Whoever and whatever you see–
just put out your fist and give yourself an "I am" BAM!
This jumping, jazzy, joyful picture book by the award-winning team of Walter Dean and Christoper Myers celebrates every child, and every thing that child can be.
Publishers Weekly
This always-inventive father and son team (Jazz) offers up an “I am jam,” celebrating how every individual is really a collection of identities. The rap-like verse is voiced by a young narrator named Jeremy, who notices that every person he encounters sees him in a different light: to his sister, he’s a little brother; to his teacher (whose real life counterparts may find inspiration in these pages for a memorable classroom activity), he’s a writer; to a cute passerby, he’s a dancer; to his mother, he’s a dreamer. Each new identity is hailed with an exuberant fist bump: “The mailman lifted his fist./ I gave it a bam!/ It is kind of amazing all the people I am.” Jeremy clearly enjoys the dizzying possibilities that emerge from his conversations, musing at one point, “I’m walking tall and I’m walking proud./ Looked in a mirror—I look like a crowd.” Christopher Myers seconds that emotion with fluorescent and occasionally psychedelic collages that combine digital human figures (reminiscent of early iPod ads) with photographs. He conjures up a funky, visually fluid funhouse that proves pigeonholes are strictly for pigeons. Ages 5–9. (Oct.)