Me Too!

by Jamie Harper

The only time Grace can get away from her little sister Lucy, who copies her every move, is when she goes to swimming class, in a funny and heartwarming story about the ups and downs of having a little sister or brother.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Once upon a time, I was a pastry chef, and before that I worked in an office, crunching numbers. Writing and illustrating children's books is by far the best job I've ever had (well, that is, after being a mom). I fell in love with picture books from reading so many to my children. Then I took some classes at MassArt and tried my hand at making one myself. I got my first job illustrating a poem for Click magazine in 2001. Two years later my first picture book was published. Now I'm working on lots more.

I live with my husband and three girls in a small town just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. My kids give me lots of ideas for stories and the pictures that go with them. Every morning, before I start working, I eat one giant malted milk ball (I tell myself it makes me more creative).

Ten Things You didn't Know about Me

1. My favorite book as a child was Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.

2. I always carry some penny candy in my purse, just in case.

3. Sometimes I sneak out to the movies when I should be working.

4. One day, I'd like to work for Pixar and make an animated movie.

5. I got the idea for Miss Mingo from drinking so many Snapple® iced teas.

6. My favorite part of a picture book is the endpapers.

7. I can't resist collecting things – my biggest collection right now is of magnets. When I was little, I collected pigs and Wacky Packages.

8. My girls, my husband (even the neighbors) pose for me if I need models for an illustration.

9. I love Mud Pie ice cream, especially when it's soft and soupy.

10. When I was doing research for Don't Grown Ups Ever Have Fun?, I stuck cooked pasta to the kitchen walls to see if it would stick... and all of the wall paint came off with the pasta!

Reviews

[Brittany Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture Book Log
Title: Me Too!
Author: Jamie Harper
Category: Tumblebooks #2
Source: Tumblebooks http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/as...

Me Too! is a great book for young students as many of them will be able to relate to some wanting to be just like them or having someone they want to be just alike. It a story about two sisters, Grace and Lucy, and Lucy wants to be just like her older sister. It is extremely apparent that Grace is not fond of Lucy constantly following her around and imitating her. Their parents continue to say, “Lucy looks up to you, she wants to be just like you”, but this does not help at all. Until one day at swim practice Grace was trying to do a dive just like Coach Finn, her swimming instructor and everyone said she was a copycat. It was this day that Grace realized having Lucy looking up to her was not sure a bad thing after all and she actually began to bond with her sister.

I watched this on tumblebooks and I loved the transitions and illustrations. The phrases were also highlighted as the narrator read so this will help young students learning to read. This would be a great book to share with my future class to help them understand that it is important to look up to others and have role models.

[Ham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations were okay. I appreciate when authors write a two levels (one for the kids and another more subtle level for the parents.) This book however, seemed to be written on a third level. (So subtle that only the author and maybe a few of her close friends would understand.)

[Olivia Bussean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book about copying someone as a form of flattery. The book doesn't have the best message but has a sweet ending. Wouldn't necessarily have this in my classroom.

[Liane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book

Reading Level: Early

Topics & Themes: Swimming. Sisters. Role-models

Curricular Use: Shared reading

Social: Teasing Gracie because trying to be like the teacher

Literary Elements: Juxtaposition of Lucy and Gracie and Gracie and Miss Finn, the swim coach. Use of “monkey see monkey do” poem throughout

Text & Pictures: interaction of text an pictures

Additional Notes: One thing to caution for classroom use, is the girls in the end, they look/are naked in the bathtub, parents may have a problem with that.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book about the relationship between sisters. Growing up as an only child, I had neither the companionship nor the strife that comes with siblings. Our girls don't have that problem, but they do drive each other crazy at times. This was a good story to show how differences can be resolved as well as start a conversation on how to be more loving toward one another. Our girls enjoyed watching the story on the Tumblebooks website. (tumblebooks.com) They've asked to see it several times.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, Me Too, is about a book where a younger sister is following and copying everything her old sister does. Everything the old sister does, the younger sister does which obviously drives the older sister absolutely crazy. The themes are funny, annoying, and relationships. The genres are picture book and contemporary realistic fiction while the ages are kindergarten through fourth grade. I gave this a 4 out of 5 because it is an adorable book where they show a typical young and older sister relationship.

[Caitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me Too! is a picture book in which the pictures confirm the meaning of the book. Lucy copies everything that Grace does, and Grace gets furious at Lucy. Grace loves to swim and the swim coach Miss Finn says that Grace is a lot like her. Grace realizes that Lucy really does want to be exactly like her, so in the end Grace teaches Lucy some swimming things and they get along. I would use this book for an independent reading for an early reader.

[Maggie Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me smile and it was very relatable. As the youngest sibling in my family I saw a lot of me in her even to this day. Lucy wants to do everything like her big sister Grace and it is about the way they grow and figure out how to work with that dynamic. It would be a good read for lower elementary students.

[Mason, Natalie & Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story for kids with younger siblings that imitate everything the older one does. The older girl in the story gets upset with her younger sister for copying everything she does - until she realizes that SHE does it to someone she admires herself.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot because it can relate to how a lot of children feel about having siblings. It is important to teach about different family dynamics to your students, and I can use this book to help teach that to them. It also has enriching text, and a good plot.

[Nicci · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who's had a little sister try to copy everything you did!

[Erica Eyestone]

Really cute book...lots of people can relate to it. You can talk about how when someone tries to copy you it is a high complement.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle reminder of a tough lesson to learn.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

my 3 1/2 year old, who gets copied by her little (1 1/2 year old) sister, loved this book.

[Sara Lemonade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Twice as long and twice as confusing as it needs to be.

[Terry]

For more than a year now, our preschooler routinely pulls this book from the shelf for bedtime stories. See why she loves it (and we do, too) in the full review at the Reading Tub.