Parents' Guide to

This Is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Came From

By Jan Carr, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Fun look at immigration celebrates bringing items from home.

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This book and activity help kids dig up their histories and relate them to their own lives and identities in a personally meaningful way. Author Jamie Lee Curtis picks a topic on the cutting edge -- immigration -- and ties it to a popular classroom activity: packing an immigrant suitcase. This encourages kids to ask elders about family journeys while also spurring them to think about their personal identities. This Is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Came From is set in a diverse classroom, and Curtis weaves in contemporary references, mentioning commercial brands kids may relate to: Nintendo DS, Barbie, Katy Perry.

The story's told in rhyme that can be a bit bumpy, but the story's warm, and the richly detailed art anchors the reader. Illustrator Laura Cornell prints each kid's name on a colorful luggage tag, and her warm gallery of family portraits at the end celebrates the variety of families that makes up our national mosaic. The inside back cover sports a pop-up suitcase for readers to "fill."

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