What About Me?

by Ed Young

Ed Young once again turns a fable into a saucy collage treat in this tale about a boy who is just looking for a little bit of knowledge! Told he can have knowledge if he gets the Grand Master a carpet, he begins a journey on which everyone-from Spinner to Goatkeeper-tells him their problems. What about me? they demand. In the search for the answers, the boy discovers he has all the knowledge he needs.

A wonderful, circular tale that makes a terrific read-aloud, What About Me? is also a story with a wise moral. Ed Young's deceptively simple cut-paper images seem to jump off the page.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Folk Tales, Fables, Multicultural Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Ed Young is the illustrator of more than eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written. Among his books is the Caldecott Medal winner Lon Po Po, which he both wrote and illustrated. He says that his work is inspired by the philosophy of Chinese painting. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

[Ivory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about doing favors and knowledge. I enjoyed the persistence of the main character. A good classroom library book.
Copyright: 2002

[Mylinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, circular fable. It is a good read aloud and would spark a great discussion on knowledge, fables and morals.

From Booklist:
(*Starred Review*) Ages 5-8. Young's cumulative story, inspired by a Sufi tale, will make children think as well as smile. A boy is anxious for knowledge, but the grand master won't give him any until the boy gets him a carpet. The carpet maker needs thread, the spinner woman needs goat hair, and the goatherd needs goats! The procession of people ends with a matchmaker, who will provide a wife for a carpenter--who will build a fence for the goat seller, and so on, until everything falls into place. But when the boy goes to ask for his knowledge, the grand master tells him he already has it. The moral? We receive some of our most precious gifts when we give, and knowledge often comes when we least expect it. Children may require help understanding the deceptively simple moral, but they'll glide through the tale thanks to the outstanding watercolor and collage art. The characters, in Middle Eastern dress, and a few primary elements of the story, such as a rug, are bright pieces of fabric. Everything is set against a speckled neutral background that changes color and makes the story appear to be set in infinity, heightening the feeling of timelessness. Beautiful bookmaking. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

[S10_Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

What About Me? is an ancient Sufi tale. It starts out with a boy who asks the Grand Master for knowledge. The Grand Master does agree to grant the boys request. However, before he will give the boy knowledge he must give the Grand Master a small carpet. As the boy tries to acquire the small carpet he crosses paths with many people who are willing to help him, but they want something in return first. Each person the boy encounters says, “What about me?” to the boy. Eventually, as the boy is becomes older, he is able to fulfill everyone’s requests. This takes him back to the Grand Master and his original quest for knowledge. In the end, the Grand Master tells the boy he already has knowledge. In addition, he leaves the boy with his two morals. The first moral that the Grand Master shares is, “Some of the most precious gifts that we receive are those we receive when we are giving.” The second moral he shares is, “Often knowledge comes to us when we least expect it.”

What About Me? would be a great book for students who are from about fourth to eight grade. Though the text and illustrations are simple in format, the morals require some higher level thinking. This book would be a great addition to any unit that includes fables, morals, or the quest for knowledge.

[Rebecca Tenbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book very much. This book was about a boy who wanted to acquire knowledge. The wise man sent him on a journey which required him to do many things. Once he finally completed what he needed to do the wise man made him realize he already acquired what he wanted during his journey. As I was ready this book I felt like I had read it before or read a book similar to this before or heard this tale before. I think that might be why I liked it so much because it felt like a true traditional tale to me something that was passed down for years and years. This book was a cumulative tale. The boy had to get something for the wise man and then we went to someone to get that object and they wanted something in return and on and on it went until he satisfied the need of everyone. The tale ended with two morals which I thought was almost the cherry on top to complete this wonderful traditional tale. I would love to use this in my classroom and I suggest other teachers read it to their students and use it as well. I think this would be an easy enough book for young students to practice their oral storytelling skills. We could focus on retelling and possibly use this book to write our own class version.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

What About Me? by Ed Young was an amazing culture book in my opinion! Not only did it tell a really great life lesson but it was just entertaining throughout the entire story. I enjoyed reading about a young boy and his journey to learning about knowledge. Not only did the Grand Master demand something from him, but so did the carpet maker, and the woman that makes the string that makes the carpet! It was a series of events that this poor boy had to undergo just so that he could get a small taste of something so large. This book was written by a Caldecott Honor winner and I believe this book lived up to his award winning skills. I would strong recommend this book to be read to a classroom and really think students would enjoy it. The illustrations were very interestingly done and captivated my attention. 5 stars!

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simple tale but a good one. Wisdom is hard to come by and can’t be ladled out like soup. When a boy strives to gain “a little bit of knowledge”, he finds himself ranging far and wide, meeting all sorts of people and developing the kind of fortitude you only find in quests or in trying to clean out the garage after a decade of neglect.

With collages of bright color and individual characters, each with their own need, What about Me? is one of those stories told “in the round”, in which a character wanders from one person to the next in order to accommodate each person’s needs. It’s fun to read and lovely to look at with sharply defined edges to the illustrations. The text has serifs which convey a slightly foreign feel that ably matches and complements the setting of the story.

[Taylor Horvat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal reaction: I enjoyed this book by Ed Young about a young boy on the search for knowledge. It follows this boy on his journey to get the Grand Master a carpet in order to obtain knowledge. I really like the moral of this story and it was a fun read.

Use in the classroom: I would like to use this as a read aloud to teach students about wisdom. The students can see, through character development, that wisdom is hard to come by. The experiences and people you meet will give you knowledge along the way, which is an important thing for students to learn as they go throughout school.

Other: This would be a good book to share with a student who tends to try and find the easy way out of a problem or an assignment, teaching them that they need to work hard.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this Sufi legend, a young boy seeks knowledge from a master but the master demands a carpet as payment before he will part with his wisdom. Thus begins an adventurous tale in which the young boy finds that with each thing he seeks, the person from whom he seeks it demands something else in return that he first must obtain, despite his seeming poverty. In the end, the tale teaches two important lessons: that one often receives the greatest gifts in life through giving to others, and that one often finds just one he's seeking in the most unexpected places. The illustrations by Ed Young are unique, beautiful depictions of simple characters on generally minimally decorated backgrounds.

[Emily Conradi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Middle-Eastern fable is about a boy who asks Grand Master for knowledge. This request sends the boy on a search for everything from thread to wood for a pen. When he finally returns to the Grand Master, the boy learns that he gained knowledge on his journey in unexpected ways.

There are more fables in the world then Aesop's. This is important for kids to understand. The fable about the tortoise and the hare is common to Western youngsters but to Middle-Eastern youngsters it may be foreign. This is an excellent mentor text to use when discussing the cultural diversity of our world and the elements that distinguish them.

[T. Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about a boy who seeks knowledge from a wise Grandmaster. During his quest, he learns a valuable moral lesson that sometimes, it is better to receive than to expect. Everyone who can help him attain knowledge (the carpetmaker, spinner woman, goat keeper) etc. is willing to help him, but needs something. The boy continually hears the question, "What about me?"

This story comes highly recommended as a story all ages may enjoy. Ed Young does a nice job with simple illustrations that do not take away from the message of the story.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book. It taught some good lessons about find knowledge. It is a great book to read to kids as they start to want to find the easy way out of doing their work. This is a book I would keep in my classroom library as well. This is also, a good book to use with different classroom projects. Like I could read this book to the class as an example and then they have to create a story about the main character wanting something but, first they have to find other things in order to get what they wanted to began with.

[Erin Leffler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a great read for students! With a great plot for sequencing and themes of knowledge and patience, the young protagonist learns after traveling from person to person in his village that he already has all of the knowledge that he needs. Students will love the repetitiveness of the characters asking, "What about me?" My students loved this version of a traditional tale!

[CKE387 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the scenes made with cloth and fabric. The details for the carpets, clothes and especially the facial expressions were amazing! Sweet story - a lesson everyone should read. Wish it was a touch and feel book!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sufi teaching tale about a boy who seeks knowledge and the quest the Great Master sends him in so that he may attain what he seeks.

Illustrations were rendered using watercolor and torn paper collage.

I love Sufi teaching tales, they are clever for all ages.

[McKinzie Elton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have students respond to this prompt before reading: Some of the most precious gifts that we receive are those we receive when we are giving. After reading, they could add on to their writing.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice illustrations, good story. My three year old daughter is a little too young for it.

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when a boy goes looking for answers from the grand master, all he hears is what about me?

[Hector Garcia lopez]

its a good book

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morals of the story: often, knowledge comes to us when we least expect it. Also: some of the most precious gifts that we receive are those we receive when we are giving

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good moral to the story. Good intro to other cultures. Good pictures. Good Ed!

[Anna Baker]

Useful for discussing the nature of knowledge, fables, middle eastern stories. Illustrations are also awesome example of collage art.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sufi story.

[Kathleen]

Retelling of a Sufi fable---boy seeks wisdom. He completes a series of tasks that teach him about wisdom.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for children to teach them about the importance of knowledge and helping others.

[Isaiah-Sesay]

no