Jimmy VeeCritiques

As a school counselor, I really wanted to like this book, but was left unimpressed after reading it. The rhymes were awkward and included many references that kids will not understand. There are many books about uniqueness for kids and I felt like this book was trying a bit too hard.

Although I like the idea of a book that helps children learn that being different is ok, everyone doesn't have to be the same, I didn't like the title of the book or the use of the word "lame" It works well in the rhyme, but it seems to give permission to use a negative word to describe opinions of others. Some of the references and words are really not very understandable by young children. Usually they don't really know about the Walk of Fame, or the NFL draft. Exploit your uniqueness? I don't think 4 year olds really would know what that means. The idea of helping children realize that everyone is unique and that is good, is a good topic. I just would like to see it handled in a little more sensitive and appropriate way.

When it comes to kids being different, I am all about helping them to fit in, be accepted and do what ever they can. This book follows along with that, let's fight against bullies and set up these kids to succeed. The concept or moral of the book is great, but the execution leaves a little room for improvement. I was wanting this to be a read aloud book, I found that some of the rhymes did't really rhyme that good, and some of the references would be lost or need to be explained. Both of these cases would loose some of the cadence of the book and possibly loose the books intention as well as the attention of the kids. I still like the concept and the moral of the story and am thankful to LibrayThing for the reviewer copy to read.

When I first read this book to my 4 year old I thought "eh, it's ok." He seemed to enjoy it. He liked the rhyming and the illustrations but it didn't make it into our high rotation of books that he likes to read.

However the other day, weeks after we had read the book, he says to me, "some people have marks on their face and that's okay."

It took us some back and forth to figure out what he was talking about but eventually he went and grabbed this book and showed me the birth mark on the face of one of the characters. Something about this books stuck with him and was teaching him an important lesson about people being different and acceptance even though I didn't remember it was even there.

cute book. nice rhyme.

This book is well written for a kids book. I think the topic that everyone is different is good. I think each child should know they are uniquely made and they don't have to be lie everybody else.½

The title, uses an ableist word (lame used as an insult/derogatory meaning a person who cannot walk) It’s no better than saying “Same is Retarded.” This put me off from the get go. HOWEVER many people do not use this word realizing its problematic, so, I could let this go…
I cannot let the rest of it go.
Let’s break it down.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS

The faces on the many people in this book are caricature like with emphasized faces (big teeth, big noses, etc) and smaller bodies. I did not find it visually appealing. The page layout is bright and busy. My kid testers (aged 5, 7, and 14) stated they didn’t care for the pictures and that some of it “Looked really weird.”

THE PROSE
It’s one of those rhyming books. Some rhyming books, like “The Gruffalo” roll off the tongue and are quite enjoyable to read and re-read. This one’s rhyme scheme reminded me of eighth grade poetry class when I had to compose a poem. I wanted to use the word “relocation” and could only come up with “station” as a rhyme so the resulting stanza made little sense to the point of the poem.
Examples:
“But, I can’t reach the sugar, so am I freak? Of course not, it makes me unique!”
You’re unique because you’re short, or because you can’t reach the sugar?
Or even better yet, on a page with the main character (the author) Elton John and John Lennon getting their walk of fame imprints, it reads:
“Ordinary is boring and same is lame. Having cool glasses can bring you some fame!”
Because all Elton John or John Lennon needed were some funky glasses?? You mean fame is what we need to reach for and our sight impairment will get us there????
And the piece de resistance:
“I’m a magician and make things disappear. After reading this book, you’ll have nothing to fear.”
Sigh.
Another criticism of the book is that it doesn’t meet its lower age range of “4 to adult.” With words and phrases like “motivational speaker,” “self conscious” and “empower,” as well as cultural references such as Elton John, it left my five year old lost, confused, and wondering when mommy would stop reading already.
Last but not least
THE MESSAGE
The only differences mentioned are minor body image issues such as wearing glasses, being short, or having a big nose. Weight, disability, bullying, lgbt and other pressing issues with young people today were not discussed at all.
The encouragement towards being different were platitudes that wouldn’t mean much to a young person facing adversity. “We’re all unique in our own special way,” doesn’t really help much when a person is being actively bullied.
The most dangerous message here though, is that responsibility for acceptance lies with the person with differences. “You’ll win the game when you start to believe that what makes you different will help you succeed.”
I was pelted with rocks at the bus stop for two weeks because I was a gender neutral kid. I was spat on, kicked and bruised. I held my ground I knew I had a right to stand at the bus stop. I believed in myself.
I was still hit with rocks.
I asked my son, who was also bullied at school, if that book would have helped him feel better about being teased for his differences.
“No mom, this book is a piece of crap.”

I received this book as an Early Reviewers.
I work as a School Nurse and I see differences in kids all the time. This book put a nice slant on being different is good because it defines who you are. Being different has struck home, recently, as my very beautiful daughter Chelsea, age 37, suddenly lost all her hair within a matter of months and today is bald. She has had to deal with being different and gets many WHY questions. Thanks for dealing with a very relevant issue for both adults and children.

My first stop for this review was the 6-year-old son of a friend. This little boy likes to wear dresses and nail polish has been getting a lot of flack from his classmates. I thought perhaps he would identify with the message and wanted hear what he had to say.

His review? "I like the part about the freckles and the birthmarks. The things on your face that people can see that you can't do anything about. I like that part, when [the author] talks about that being okay."

I think that this is a great book for the youngest ages of the target audience. The rhyme is very regular and the illustrations are colorful and vivid. There are even some cameos for the adults reading the book out loud (John Lennon and Elton John, notably). Older kids might see through the writing, though. The message is clear but it is not new: we are all different in different ways.

Overall, an enjoyable read for young elementary school kids.

LITTLE JIMMY SAYS SAME IS LAME by JIMMY VEE is a Librarything Early Reviewers book.
I often say a book is "delightful" and mean it, of course. But this book is delightful and more. Coming from an author who really is only five feet tall, he gives an awesome outlook on being unique and how to make your own specialness be the best thing about you. It is DELIGHTFUL...... my copy arrived just two days before Christmas....I couldn't wait to gift it to my grandsons. What a good way to teach kids to embrace who they are, at the same time showing them that everyone is different and deserves to be appreciated for that. I think you would do well to start reading this book to your children as soon as they are old enough to pay attention to it.

Very cute book with lots of colorful illustrations. I love the message and the thoughtfulness of the book and think children will enjoy it. I also love the size of the book, not too big and not too small.

Makes a nice gift as well.

Little Jimmy is an inspiration to kids and adults of all shapes, sizes, and interests. Little Jimmy talks about how he is unique and why it is fabulous, then he discusses other ways people are unique and why same is lame.

As I was nearing the end I was thinking about how I would write my own Same is Lame story, then I noticed space for readers to write in their own unique qualities and why they are important. Although it is a children's book, I think this concept could be applied to people of all ages. I could see using this book for my 5th graders to inspire them to write their own story about why they are special/important.

Disclaimer: I received a free physical copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was not required to give a positive review. Special thanks to the author and publisher.

In our society, there is a lot of pressure put on people to measure up to a certain standard, and many of those standards have to do with physical appearance. If you don't measure up to that, you may be unfairly bullied or feel like you aren't good enough. Little Jimmy Says, "Same is Lame" is about the author, Jimmy Vee, who is five feet tall - as he says, an "unusually" short stature for an adult male! Little Jimmy also discusses his other differences before happily claiming that rather than making him feel inferior or bad, these differences make him unique and contribute to his success in following his dreams.

Via silly rhymes, Little Jimmy talks about many differences and how bullying and self-consciousness can make us wish we were the same as everyone else, without realizing that each difference gives us a certain benefit if we look at it from other perspectives. Throughout, the illustrations are humorous and exaggerate how different we are without being insulting or hurtful. The book begins with a carnival setting, which provides comic relief to the heavy subject matter.

This is a great book for children who are just entering the stage where they become aware of diversity and can help them learn to appreciate it. There is a blank page at the back that prompts children to write about "What's Unique About You?"

I do wish there had been other types of differences discussed, such as mental and physical disabilities or weight. Perhaps Jimmy Vee preferred to err on the side of caution, as some of these topics could be controversial, offend people, or be too big of a concept for younger children. If you are like me and would like to discuss more types of diversity with your young reader, there are many other children's books that address the same topic with an emphasis on other differences, so perhaps you could get a stack of them and turn it into a fun life lesson. I do think that "Same is Lame" definitely deserves to go in that book pile, however!

A book everyone should own, and for children it will help them accept their differences. With rhyme and illustrations galore we visually see differences pointed out in a comical and yet non-threatening way, everyone is different, and yet the same.
This book will be displayed on our coffee table, and the boys want it shared and they did try to talk without moving their mouths. Even the title of the book makes me smile.
There are a lot of great messages that so important to pass on to our youngsters, this should even be a mandatory read for all.
I received this book through New Shelves Distribution, and was not required to give a positive review