Review: How To Be
How to Be, written and illustrated by by Lisa Brown (HarperCollins, 2006)
How to be a monkey: Swing from a tree. Eat with your toes. Copy someone. Be curious.
How to be a bear: Catch fish with your hands. Hibernate. Growl. Be brave.
Author/illustrator Lisa Brown employs simple, charming illustrations and a minimal text to teach children how to be different animals — the how to be themselves, using the best qualities of the animals. The easy-to-read text make this book terrific for interactive storytime. Kids may want to act along with the children in the book, pretending to be different animals.
The book may also inspire conversation about what it means to be a person, and what it means to be yourself. The text could easily introduce the good qualities that people strive for: bravery, curiosity, patience, creativity, charm, and frendliness, without being pedantic or preachy.
How to Be is Lisa Brown’s debut book for children, and may be destined to become a beloved classic.
