NO ONE ELSE LIKE YOU

Humanity’s diversity is celebrated in this poetic exploration from Belgium of the many ways the world’s 7 billion people carry out their lives.

People are all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they exhibit various emotions, needs, and aspirations. Delicate line-and-color drawings depict a plethora of children and adults from around the world living their lives in all kinds of ways. Readers see an assortment of races, varied international (but not stereotypical) attire, and numerous different activities and abilities spread across a white background. “There are nice people, smart people, / stubborn people, cranky people, / funny people, and scary people. / There are people who like reading / on their belly in the dew and people / always wanting something else and something new.” The free verse, studded with an occasional rhyme, addresses all kinds of possibilities and desires, eventually emphasizing an underlying theme of individuality. “Some people want to be different from everyone else, / and others like to be alike.” But no matter each person’s attributes or characteristics, everyone is unique, as the last line proclaims. “But not one of them is just like you.” Listening to the text’s portrayal of different aspects of the world’s population, children will enjoy exploring the multifaceted illustrated examples within the intricate scenes.

A joyous and realistic commemoration of the strengths and weaknesses of the human race.