Mirror

Mirrror

• author and illustrator:  Jeannie Baker  http://www.jeanniebaker.com/
• medium:  collage constructions reproduced from photographs

• year of publication:  2010
• publication city:  Somerville, Massachusetts
• publisher:  Candlewick Press
• ISBN:  978-0-7636-4848-0

Annotation:  In Sydney, Australia, and in Morocco, two boys and their families have a day of shopping.  Readers are invited to compare the illustrations in two wordless stories that intended to be read left to right and right to left respectively.

Personal Thoughts:  Mirror is such cool book both for its amazing artwork and for its cultural sensibilities.  By telling the stories of two boys in different part of the world side by side, the reader is challenged to make connections in the lives of the boys.  While the geographical and societal settings seem so different between Australia and Morocco, Baker intentionally emphasizes the similarities in the two lives.  Everyone eats together, everyone feeds their pets, everyone loves their mother, etc.  These universal conditions are what make two stories that seem completely separate from one another seem very closely related.  This book is a great tool for teaching multiculturalism and for exposing those who have not traveled or even considered the conditions of other cultures outside their own. The book also focuses on the cultural exchange of products and ideas.

***Artwork – The collages are so fun to look at for their almost photorealistic attributes.  The images are layered and look almost 3D.  Natural materials like sand and hair are evident and bring an amazing reality to the collage artwork. 

***Curricular Connection – 7^th Grade World History/ Civics/ Social Sciences.  Discussion Topics:  Differences & Similarities between Western nations and Eastern developing nations.  Cultural interchange through commodities and technology.