Its A Small World After All

Whoever You Are

By Mem Fox

Illustrated by Leslie Staub

Published by Voyager Books

ISBN: 0-15-216406-5

I have to admit before the beginning of this semester I had never heard of Mem Fox. I was completely unfamiliar with her stories and have yet to recognize one as having read it before. I am a career changer, and as an undergraduate my reading consisted primarily of business textbooks. So, there is a large gap in my knowledge of children’s literature. If I did not read an author as a child myself, there is a good chance I have not been introduced to their work until now.

With that being said, I am so grateful to have been introduced to Mem Fox’s work. I think many of the books we’ve looked at in class are varied in their style, composition and subject, but are all poignant and high quality. Also, since Fox works with different illustrators, many of the designs, layouts and illustrations are varied in her books as well, and I find that appealing as a reader.

I have selected Mem Fox’s Whoever You Are, published in 2001 by Voyager Books and illustrated by Leslie Staub as an example of a multicultural picture book to share with you.

While many of Fox’s stories take place in her native Australia and display her own culture, there are some other stories that do not. Whoever You Are celebrates cultures around the world and shows the commonalities we have as a human race. That is a very big concept, yet this book is clearly written for children as young as kindergarten. I especially love how the story begins, “Little one, whoever you are.” Fox is talking directly to the child and letting them know right from the beginning that this story is written for them, about them. The language is eloquently written throughout, and sends a clear message to children that despite the differences in cultures throughout the world, inside everyone is the same.

The book details the differences in ethnicities such as language, skin color, schooling and even the land where they are from, but focuses on the similarity that people from these different cultures all share. This similarity is feelings; everyone loves, laughs, hurts, and feels the same emotions. I think the message of this story is so important to share with students. I would use this story to begin the school year, as well as when learning about multiculturalism and different ethnicities.

The illustrations that go along with the story are what really caught my eye. I skimmed through a few contenders, but eventually settled on Mem Fox’s Whoever You Are because I always try to pick a book I want to purchase and keep in my own library. The illustrations are a big part of the reason I was drawn to this book. Leslie Staub created the images. Originally, the illustrations were done as oil paintings. Each page has an image of the actual frames that the oil paintings are in, and these are made from painted plaster and wood and have gems on them. I would take a great amount of time examining each page with students to look closer at the culture being highlighted in each picture, be that in Asia, Europe, Australia, the Americas or Africa.

One great idea I saw to try with students is having them create illustrations, using Leslie Staub’s work in Whoever You Are as inspiration. This is exactly what one class did in a school in Quebec, Canada. (Don’t you just love that not only does the book transcend to different places, but so does the lessons and activities you can do with students.) The images the class created are pretty amazing, check them out for yourself.  The work that students can create will be able to fill your classrooms wall and bulletin boards, and serve as a reminder of the message in Mem Fox's story.