Review: I Am Different: Can You Find Me? by Manjula Padmanabhan

I Am Different explores sixteen languages giving kids a glimpse into the many languages spoken in North America. Each spread features one language, giving a pronunciation guide and examples of familiar words which originated from the language. The book tells in which direction the script is read. There is an accompanying puzzle for each language in which the reader must identify what is different from everything else in the picture.

It was fun to try the different languages according to the pronunciation guide. I read the Mandarin aloud to my Chinese classmates and they had a good chuckle at my effort before correcting me. I can imagine kids enjoying the puzzle aspect. The pictures are colorful and the icons in the puzzles taken from the language's culture. For instance, the puzzle accompanying Hebrew uses the Star of David. A celebration of diversity, I Am Different will likely be enjoyed by elementary students reading with others as they speak the languages aloud and solve the puzzles together. This book counts towards the POC Reading Challenge.

Publisher: Charlesbridge Pub, 2011.     Pages: 36
Rating: 3.5 Stars     Source: Public Library