“SAME, SAME BUT DIFFERENT,” by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, Henry Holt and Co., Sept. 13, 2011, $16.99 (ages 4 and up)
The saying “It’s a small world after all,” has ever been truer than now. As technology has expanded, so has people’s worldview. And while something as simple as sending a letter used to take weeks or months, now it takes a few days at most.
In “Same, Same But Different,” by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, readers join Elliot and Kailish as they realize things aren’t really so different no matter where you live.
Elliot lives in America and Kailash in India. A school pen-pal assignment helps them forge a friendship spanning thousands of miles. The two exchange letters and pictures of their respective homes, and in the process, they learn that while their two worlds may look different, there’s a lot that’s the same, too.
Vivid illustrations that almost have a child-like folkish feel to them depict the boys climbing trees, showing off their pets and going to school. It doesn’t take long to see the similarities.
Young readers will easily relate to the two boys as they notice parallels in their own lives. The text is easy and the illustrations detailed enough to capture and hold easily distracted readers.
