Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Just Like Me was written by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. A sweet book for little girl who wants attention. Every little girl wants to see herself reflected in the stories she reads, and that is exactly what Just Like Me wants attention to. [1]
Summary
I am a canvas
Being painted on
By the words of my family Friends
And community
The story tells about girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't, country girls, city girls, girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. With bright portraits in Vanessa's signature style of vibrant colors and unique patterns and fabrics, it invites readers to find themselves and each other within its pages. [2]
Pros
The author's distinctively textured and patterned mixed-media illustrations combine acrylic paint, gouache, charcoal, pencil, oil pastels, and handmade and collage papers (“and lots of magic”) to portray scenes that are warm and sunny or more quiet and contemplative. Poems mainly home in on a single emotion or moment, and the illustrations perfectly capture each piece’s sentiment through expressive facial expressions and body language. [3]