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8th out of 21 books
—
12 voters
Same, Same But Different
Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals. By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school. Their worlds might look different, but they are actually similar. Same, same. But different!
Through an inviting point-of-view and colorful, vivid illustrations, this story shows how two boys...more
Through an inviting point-of-view and colorful, vivid illustrations, this story shows how two boys...more
Hardcover, 36 pages
Published
September 13th 2011
by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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Same, Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw is the story of two pen pals, Elliot from the U.S. and Kailash from India. By exchanging letters and pictures they learn that their worlds may look different, but they are actually similar.
The straight forward yet clever text is in a large font, in several colors, making this a good choice as a storytime read-aloud. The boys learn through questions, comments and pictures that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school where they...more
The straight forward yet clever text is in a large font, in several colors, making this a good choice as a storytime read-aloud. The boys learn through questions, comments and pictures that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school where they...more
I found this a quite odd work. It takes on a familiar topic in children's books: things/life/people/etc. in different cultures are similar in some ways and different in others. (So, it is at least perhaps a step better than those books that ridiculously try to point out how we are all alike.) But it feels like it is a work that is in a time warp. Perhaps 25 or more years ago when children in the US or other parts of the globe may not really have seen much of each other, this would have been a us...more
Book type: Picture storybook
Intended audience: K-2
Same Same But Different (2011) is about two boys writing art postcards to each other. Elliot lives in America and Kailash lives in India. They both have animals, ride a bus to school, like to climb trees and exercise, but in very different ways. They are same, same but different. The students are called "picture pals" and they are told to paint a picture of their world and then mail it across the oceans. Of course, the American classroom contains...more
Intended audience: K-2
Same Same But Different (2011) is about two boys writing art postcards to each other. Elliot lives in America and Kailash lives in India. They both have animals, ride a bus to school, like to climb trees and exercise, but in very different ways. They are same, same but different. The students are called "picture pals" and they are told to paint a picture of their world and then mail it across the oceans. Of course, the American classroom contains...more
I enjoyed reading and sharing this book. Not only is the language simple and straightforward, but the illustrations compliment the writing perfectly. The illustrations are bright and colorful and highlight the similarities and differences between the two boys. I've really come to love collage as an art form and this book demonstrates the characteristics that make collage so unique. I had a fun discussion with a group of kindergartners about the different materials used in collage I had a fun dis...more
This is the story of two boys are the same, same, but different. Although Elliot lives in America and Kailash in India, the pen pals discover their similarities through letters and drawings. They both take the bus to school, although one is a yellow bus and the other powered by bicycle. They both live in cities, although the sights on the streets differ. The illustrations are combination of childlike drawings and paper collage. Pages are marked with an E (Elliot) or K (Kailash) to make it clear...more
Two boys, one in the U.S. and one in India, are penpals, exchanging letters about their lives. They (and the reader) learn that despite living in two different places, their lives are similar in many respects. The colorful multi-media illustrations are superb and really add to the story. Parents and teachers might remember being penpals with a child living in a different country but students today have instant access through social media, so pre-teaching about the long-lost art of letter writing...more
Love the illustrations and the juxtaposition of two different (but the same!) worlds.
I remember having a penpal from Swaziland when I was a kid. We continued to write for a couple years then drifted from doing so.
I know there are epals and Skype chats (when time zones can match up) with classes from other countries. I just don't see anyone doing them in my circles. Dunno if it's because I just don't hear about it (I'm the school librarian ... so to do anything with kids I need to get the teacher...more
I remember having a penpal from Swaziland when I was a kid. We continued to write for a couple years then drifted from doing so.
I know there are epals and Skype chats (when time zones can match up) with classes from other countries. I just don't see anyone doing them in my circles. Dunno if it's because I just don't hear about it (I'm the school librarian ... so to do anything with kids I need to get the teacher...more
Same, Same, but Different is about two pen pals, Elliot, who lives in America, and Kailash who lives in India. Through their letters they discover that there are many things that make them the same but that they are also very different. Even though they live across the globe from each other, they are still best friends. This text is related to my theme unit in that it teaches that there are different kinds of people all around the world. The unit could help students to think about what makes the...more
Cute idea and I think kids would like it, however children corresponding by letters and art seems pretty far fetched in our digital age.
It could be used to teach a bit about how we are the same but different in various cultures BUT I objected to the stereotypical images of a backwards society for India!! Yikes how egocentric is that?! A child in India who is in a great school corresponding with American students is more likely to live in a city. I would have liked a more accurate depiction of t...more
It could be used to teach a bit about how we are the same but different in various cultures BUT I objected to the stereotypical images of a backwards society for India!! Yikes how egocentric is that?! A child in India who is in a great school corresponding with American students is more likely to live in a city. I would have liked a more accurate depiction of t...more
This children's picture book, Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw reminds me of the experience that I used to write a letter to a pen-pal in overseas in my middle school year. Growing up in S.Korea, I encountered a booming trend which students could make friends by writing a letter in different language - English, and ultimately get to know about the outside of the world. Personally I benefited from these experiences in the past, and now living in States, being a parent, I'd love...more
Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals. By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and ride a school bus. Their works might look different, but they are actually similar.
Same, same, but different!
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw traveled to Nepal and India where she learned the popular saying "same, same but different" that natives use to compare cultures. At Sunshine School in Bhaktapur, Nepal, she organized an art exchan...more
Same, same, but different!
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw traveled to Nepal and India where she learned the popular saying "same, same but different" that natives use to compare cultures. At Sunshine School in Bhaktapur, Nepal, she organized an art exchan...more
k-3
This is really a fabulous book - great art that extends the story of a pen pal relationship between two boys. The phrase "same same but different" repeats throughout the book, giving it shape and allowing for the reader/audience to repeat with the characters. This would be great with a unit on maps or worlds or letter writing. I would like to see this one considered for the Caldecott honor books. Pairs nicely with Alice McGinty's Thank You, World. Could also use with an older storytime (4's a...more
This is really a fabulous book - great art that extends the story of a pen pal relationship between two boys. The phrase "same same but different" repeats throughout the book, giving it shape and allowing for the reader/audience to repeat with the characters. This would be great with a unit on maps or worlds or letter writing. I would like to see this one considered for the Caldecott honor books. Pairs nicely with Alice McGinty's Thank You, World. Could also use with an older storytime (4's a...more
Two boys, one in an American city and one from India, exchange pictures and information about their lives. Using short sentences with clear contrasts, Kostecki-Shaw helps young readers find out how life is alike and different. The boys discover that their lives are "different, different but the same!"
A beautifully illustrated text that serves as a good introduction for compare and contrast. Recommended for kindergarten and first grade. Second grade might also find this a good discussion starter...more
A beautifully illustrated text that serves as a good introduction for compare and contrast. Recommended for kindergarten and first grade. Second grade might also find this a good discussion starter...more
This book is about 2 boys that come from very different places but have a lot of things in common. This would be great to read to a mixed class with people with children that come from different countries or a class where there are students that have exceptionalities. I would like to point out to the students that although we are different in so many ways we have some commonalities at the same time. I would also have the students write a letter as if they were writing to their pen pal and tell t...more
I was looking for a book to use in my multicultural "beyond the book" group of 3rd & 4th graders so this one caught my attention. (Truthfully, any book that incorporates mail as a main theme gets my attention!) I enjoyed the story, the artwork draws you in, and there's quite a bit to discuss here. I could see this sparking a desire for pen pal relationships as well. However, I wasn't exactly "wowed", hence the 3-star rating. This would be a great book for small group discussion with younger...more
Elliot and Kailash are new pen pals. As they share letters, they share the differences and similarities of their lives in Elliot’s America and Kailash’s India. Both boys like to climb trees. Their families are very different with Elliot living with his mother, father and baby sister and Kailash living with an extended family of 23. They both have pets, but the pets are different. Both boys take a bus to school, but the communities are very different except for the traffic. The boys discover that...more
This is a story about two boys, Elliot who lives in America and Kailash who lives in India. They are pen pals and they exchange letters and pictures. They learn that even though they are from different places they have a lot in common. I love the pictures in this book and I think this book is great for ELLs because it shows that just because you are from a different place than someone else you can still be the best of friends and have a lot in common. The title says it all. Same, same. But diffe...more
Same, Same but Different is about two boys who are pen pals. One lives in a boy city in the U.S. while the other boy lives in India. The two compare each others worlds side by side on the pages to show that they are the same, but differ only slightly. This would be a great read for classes who have pen pals, and also anyone wanting to learn a little bit about India (as a very small, easy to digest introductory to compare!). As a side note, the author studied at the Kansas City Art Institute - co...more
This story is about Elliot, a boy that lives in America, and Kailash, a boy that lives in India. They are pen pals that realize that, though it seems that their worlds are very different, they have a lot in common! This book has beautiful illustrations and color font that make it engaging to read.
Through a fun exchange between two boys, we learn that we can still find similarities between seemingly very different worlds, and that both our similarities and differences should be celebrated.
Through a fun exchange between two boys, we learn that we can still find similarities between seemingly very different worlds, and that both our similarities and differences should be celebrated.
Nov 21, 2012
Zara Younus
added it
I loved the illustrations and idea behind this book. Two different parts of the world are introduced to the children. Students will be able to see how there are similarities and differences between both countries and cultures. I would use this as a geography lesson and have students compare and contrast two different countries and see what they can find. This is a beautiful book about friendship, cultures, and diversity.
Love, love, love this book. Same, Same But Different is about to boys who come from totally different places, yet they have so much in common. This book would be excellent to read to children at the beginning of the year. I'd follow up with an activity where I pair children up based on outward differences and have the interview each other in a way and find things they have in common despite their physical differences.
I love the title of this book. The author learned it in her travels to Nepal and India. My son and I use it almost everyday to describe our world. It is really special when a book changes how you see the world. This book tells the story of two boys, one who lives in America, and the other who lives in India. They exchange letters and pictures and discover that in many ways, their world is same, same, but different.
This book is so so wonderful! It allows students to see that there are still similarities between people in America as well as other countries like India. This would be a wonderful book to read to the class if there are any students from India in the class. The Indian student could share their ideas and opinions about the book and then tell us about their own cultural experiences.
Two boys from opposite sides of the world, and totally different cultures, become pen pals, and through their letters and art, they find common ground amid their differences. Vibrant colors, and found the stamp pictures on the inside cover and fly leaf to be very inviting. Thought of it as a higher level concept book for same and different, with a backdrop of multiculturalism.
This book won the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award and the 2012 South Asia Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. This is a wonderful tale of how even though people live in different worlds; they can still find similarities in their daily lives. This book would be great for a lesson on Pen Pals. I loved the illustrations and simple text.
Review via Cracking the Cover
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.
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.
I loved this one. The drawings are interesting, and kept my daughter involved. She got to learn a little bit about a different culture, and the story is adorable. I didn't do a lot of explaining about what pen pals are, but she seemed to be engaged, whether or not she actually knew what was going on in the story.
We'll definitely read this one again.
We'll definitely read this one again.
Nov 24, 2012
Marcie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Marcie by:
Deborah Stevenson, U of Illinois
Might work for a mentor text about life in different countries. I very much like the reapeated refrain. The illustration of the two bedrooms with all the correspondence posted is wonderful. I loved the use of illustrations although I can see classes doing such projects with photographs. Lots of lovely uses for this book.
Using this as one example for the 'multicultural' segment of my children's lit class...really liked how the two boys shared their 'world' with each other. The thought of a pen-pal is a little outdated, but may be a cool way for young children to share drawings and such. Clever way to learn about a different part of the world.
The story of two boys, one in America and one in India, who become pen pals sharing about their lives. The illustrations are vibrant and complement the simple text and help convey the message that we are all parts of one world. A great springboard for global collaboration, moving from pen pals to Skype or email pals!
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