"Whoever You Are" by Mem Fox

 "Whoever You Are" by Mem Fox

Summary

The book "Whoever You Are," was written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Leslie Staub. It was published in 1997. The beginning of the book shows different people for around the world and discusses differences. The book starts out with, "Little one, wherever you are, wherever you go, there are little ones just like you all over the world." Next the book explains, "their skin may be different, their schools may be different, their words may be different..."  After the book points out differences, it points out similarities, such as "their smiles are the same as yours, their tears are the same as yours, joy, pain, laughter..." The book ends with, "joy, love, pain, blood, smiles, and hearts are the same wherever you've been, wherever you are, and wherever you will be, whoever you are." The illustrations show lots of diversity and very colorful.

Analysis

The book is aimed toward children. The illustrations and images are easy to understand. The illustrations show characters "outside the mainstream culture" depicted as individuals and exaggerates the characteristics using caricatures. Th illustrations effectively shows different skin colors, and children from around the world. As the author explores differences in the first part of the book, she does not go into too much depth on the differences or give significant cultural information. I feel this would be a good starter book to introduce awareness of different cultures and diversity without confusing children. The person who has the power and wisdom in the book is "the man in the sky" who is taking the reader on a journey throughout the world. He uses this power and wisdom to point out differences, as well as similarities. The reader gets a look at different lands, schools, etc. The author is a white women who was born in Australia and moved to Zimbabwe when she was six months old. During this time, she was forced to leave the school with her friends and attend an all white school. Mem says that after being moved from her school and friends, she felt different and embarrassed for the first time. The book does not represent one specific culture or race, but instead briefly discusses differences and similarities. It does not give very much cultural information but seems like a good beginners book to introduce the children to diversity as well unity.

 About the Author

 

Mem Fox was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946. When she was only six months old, she moved to Africa with her family. Mem was the only white student in her class when she started school. She learned that a persons skin color does not define them or make them better than anyone else. In the early fifties in Zimbabwe white children weren’t allowed to go to school with black children. The authorities found out that Mem was at the mission school and told her parents to remove her immediately and send her to a white school. Mem said, "For the first time in my life I felt different from them. And utterly miserable. I’d never felt different before. It was embarrassing (http://memfox.com/gossip-behind-mems-books/whoever-you-are-illustrated-by-leslie-staub/)."
According to Mem, she came from a pacifist family who believed that tolerance is one of the great virtues, and that all people are equal and worthy of human rights and human dignity. It really resignated with her when she read a shocking piece in the newspaper about the war in Bosnia and the inhumanity of an 18 year old girl against a boy of the same age who had been her classmate only weeks before. She had become an animal in war and saw ‘enemies’ where she should have seen humans, friends, who were just like her. Mem thought, “We have to get to the children, while they’re young. Teach them about the similarities between the peoples of the world, not the differences.” I imagined a tribal elder talking to a child, passing on the values of the tribe. The story-poem began to emerge."

 Activities to Expand on the Topic of Diversity

As you are reading the story, you can ask the children questions such as, "What can we tell about these children from the pictures?" Do you notice any children who look like you? What is that long white thing they are using to write on at school?" As you are reflecting on the story, encourage the children to talk about their differences as well as similarities. You can make a graph about hair, eye color, etc. You could also set up skin color paint and mirrors at the table and encourage children to make self portraits. 

Works Cited

Fox, M. (1997). Whoever You Are. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Fox, M. (n.d.). Whoever You Are. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://memfox.com/gossip-behind-mems-books/whoever-you-are-illustrated-by-leslie-staub/