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46th out of 95 books
—
7 voters
Mirror
An innovative, two-in-one picture book follows a parallel day in the life of two families: one in a Western city and one in a North African village.
Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set...more
Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set...more
Hardcover, 48 pages
Published
November 9th 2010
by Candlewick Press
(first published August 1st 2010)
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The artwork and layout of this book are fantastic.
Audience: This wordless book is truly a masterpiece at telling the story of two children, separated by more than 10,000 miles, living two seemingly different lives. In order for a student to have the ability to grasp the meaning of the book my suggested grade range is 2nd-5th. However, any elementary classroom library would benefit by adding this to their shelves.
Appeal: I originally looked through this book a year ago and it made such an impression on me that I decided to purchase it a few mont...more
Appeal: I originally looked through this book a year ago and it made such an impression on me that I decided to purchase it a few mont...more
Baker, Jeannie. (2010). Mirror. Boston: Candlewick. unpaginated. ISBN 978-0-7636-4848-0 (Hard Cover); $18.99.
Here is one of the more notable books of 2010. This amazing book is wordless and it will have you speechless with delight and wonder. The lives of two families are inspected, side by side, one Moroccan and one Australian. One is from a big city (Sydney) and the other is from a more rural location, a Moroccan village. The English speaking Australian section of the book opens in a typical w...more
Here is one of the more notable books of 2010. This amazing book is wordless and it will have you speechless with delight and wonder. The lives of two families are inspected, side by side, one Moroccan and one Australian. One is from a big city (Sydney) and the other is from a more rural location, a Moroccan village. The English speaking Australian section of the book opens in a typical w...more
It’s fair to say that Jeannie Baker went way beyond any criteria requirement with her story of two cultures, Mirror. The quality is unbelievable until you pick up the book and check it out for yourself. You will truly be amazed, as was I, and that is why I believe Mirror by Jeannie Baker would be a great candidate for the Honor award in the Notable Books for a Global Society category. There are many reasons that Baker deserves this award and as soon as the book is open the reader will understand...more
I read this book for my wordless category. This book was about two different families, one in Australia and one in Morocco. The two families have a different way of life from their way of travel, places they buy items, the way they cook and their homes. Because it is wordless, the author has to communicate her thoughts only in pictures. I think she did a brilliant job.
This was a very different book than any other I have read. The format of how you read the book is different, along with the medi...more
This was a very different book than any other I have read. The format of how you read the book is different, along with the medi...more
It's testament to this book that I forked out $40 for it (caught at a weak moment at some great south coast local bookstores). But I'm glad I did because the pictures and the message are fantastic. Something I'm confident I'll want to come back to and share with others.
The book follows a day in the life of a family in Sydney and a family in Morocco. When you open the book, two inner books sit side by side, one opening left to right (the Sydney story), and one opening right to left (the Morocco...more
The book follows a day in the life of a family in Sydney and a family in Morocco. When you open the book, two inner books sit side by side, one opening left to right (the Sydney story), and one opening right to left (the Morocco...more
Jeannie Baker took over 5 years to finish this book and the wait was definitely worth it. Clever in every way, the book opens out so that there are two stories told side-by-side. The left side follows the day in the life of a boy from Australia, the right, introduced in Arabic, about a day in the life of a Moroccan boy. The story was inspired by Jeannie’s travels through Morocco and the way she felt welcomed as a stranger at a time when she believed Australia was becoming a nation less friendly...more
Mar 09, 2011
Carolynne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Malinda, Katherine, Abigail, Library Lady, Martha, Holly, Tina, Bryan, Teresa
Shelves:
multicultural,
picture-books
Jeannie Baker has done it again! Like _Window_, a beautifully crafted wordless picture book that packs a wallop! In this book two families, one in Australia and one in the Moroccan desert, go about their everyday business, eating breakfast, traveling, parking, going to the market, buying something special which is poignantly used in the final frames. Pictures that cleverly fold out from each side eloquently reveal the external differences and inner parallels that constitute their lives. And in t...more
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This nearly-wordless book opens in the middle and then opens twice more, to show two parallel stories. One takes place in Morocco and one in Australia, and each follows a little boy's day as he accompanies his dad. The Australian family visits a home-repair store and purchases a carpet as well, while the Moroccan family visits a market, sells the carpet they have made, and buys a computer.
The concept of this is so well illustrated visually that words aren't needed (though when they are there, o...more
The concept of this is so well illustrated visually that words aren't needed (though when they are there, o...more
The Mirror is creativity at it’s finest. It’s a story about a day in the life of two boys, one from Australia, and the other from Morocco. It is created as two different books but is designed to be read simultaneously, one from left to right, the other right to left. From first glance, the stories appear to be quite different. One is a desert setting and the other a suburban setting. There is a boy in each and you follow each throughout their day of shopping. As you go through the book you begin...more
Mirror by Jeannie Baker is a bilingual story written in English and Arabic.It is a parallel narrative depicting intercultural understanding and respect.
It explores place, belonging, identity, environment, heritage and tradition in two very different countries -Southern Morocco and Sydney, Australia through two families.
Classroom discussion should not only include differences but the deeper meaning - what do they have in common? We see that in the context of strikingly different lifestyles, remo...more
It explores place, belonging, identity, environment, heritage and tradition in two very different countries -Southern Morocco and Sydney, Australia through two families.
Classroom discussion should not only include differences but the deeper meaning - what do they have in common? We see that in the context of strikingly different lifestyles, remo...more
Age of readership: Ages 4-8
Genre: Wordless Picture Book
Diversity: Comparison of Moroccan and Australian cultures
Illustrations: Collages constructed on wood with many ingredients: sand, mud, clay, paints, vegetables, paper, fabric, tin and plastic. The collages were photographed for the final product presentation.
My response to the book: There are many similarities and differences within every culture and the author shows us some of the similarities after her travels in Morocco to her homeland of...more
Genre: Wordless Picture Book
Diversity: Comparison of Moroccan and Australian cultures
Illustrations: Collages constructed on wood with many ingredients: sand, mud, clay, paints, vegetables, paper, fabric, tin and plastic. The collages were photographed for the final product presentation.
My response to the book: There are many similarities and differences within every culture and the author shows us some of the similarities after her travels in Morocco to her homeland of...more
The premise of this innovative, wordless picture book is that children in different cultures may live very different lives, but are essentially the same in what they do, live and value. On the right hand side of the book, a two page spread shows a boy and his family waking up in urban Australia, and living their daily routines. On the left hand side, another two page spread shows the same routines followed by a boy in Morocco, North Africa. While the Australian boy has his breakfast and gets int...more
In her new book, "Mirror", Jeannie celebrates the differences that makes up the diversity of world cultures and the elements that unite us, the bonds of family and the mundanities of every day life.
Even the presentation, as two books united within one cover, highlights 'same and different', but highlights it in a way that draws us closer to both families, the traditional Moroccan family and the modern Australian family.
Turning pages of each book simultaneously, reveals parallel aspects of the da...more
Even the presentation, as two books united within one cover, highlights 'same and different', but highlights it in a way that draws us closer to both families, the traditional Moroccan family and the modern Australian family.
Turning pages of each book simultaneously, reveals parallel aspects of the da...more
The book Mirror by Jeannie Baker was a very interesting book. It shows pictures of two different families: one from Australia and one from Morocco, North Africa. As the story progresses it shows these families in their everyday lives and how they are alike and how they are different. It starts with the families sitting down in the morning for breakfast, they both sit at tables but the Australian family sits in chairs while the Morocco family sits on the floor. Next it shows each families father...more
Two families, one in Sydney, Australia, and one in Morocco. Jeannie Baker takes us through each family's day, giving us domestic snippets and sweeping landscapes. The Moroccan family gets around by donkey, while the Australians drive a yellow minivan. The Australian kid wears a red t-shirt and jeans, and the Moroccan kid wears his jeans under a red djellaba. Both boys have a baby sibling in a fuzzy yellow sweater. Tea is poured, pets are fed. The Moroccan boy likes to draw while the Australian o...more
this book is a wordless picture book. The book was divided into two section. On the right side of the book the pictures focus on a story of a young boy and his family in a city in Australia and on the left side it focuses on a young boy and his family which live in North Africa. The purpose of the book is to show that although these two boys have two different lifestyles and have different cultures they still have things in common. I feel this book tells a fabulous story without the words and it...more
Oct 28, 2011
Karin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
picture-books,
multicultural,
realistic,
arabic,
australia,
morocco,
borrowed-from-the-library
Two families in different parts of the world live through the same day in this side-by-side, parallel picture book. The Australian family is spending the day remodeling their fireplace and decorating their living room, while the Moroccan family travels to the marketplace to trade goods (rugs for a computer). Connected by the internet and the goods they exchange (the Australian family ends up with one of the rugs), we begin to see that people everywhere are connected globally (and have many thing...more
A wordless picture book telling two similar stories in two different cultures(Morocco & Australia). The comparison of the lives of two boys and their families shows many connections yet very different lives. The limited text is in both Arabic and English and the book reads from right to left and from left to right in a mirror format.
The book clearly illustrates the cultures and family lives in two different countries. Any reader would enjoy the beautifully created art and understand the comp...more
The book clearly illustrates the cultures and family lives in two different countries. Any reader would enjoy the beautifully created art and understand the comp...more
Jan 02, 2013
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
art,
community,
cultural-identity,
crafts,
families,
nbgs,
picture-book,
rural-life,
urban-life,
wordless-picture-books
In clever, innovative style, the author uses pictures to tell the stories of two boys, one who lives in Morocco, and one in Australia. In addition to spending their days in widely disparate places, one in a rural setting and one in a urban setting, and living quite differently, there are similarities between the boys and their families. The more readers look at the images in this wordless picture book, the more they will notice. The illustrations are photographed collages made from sand, earth,...more
The introduction and closing text are bilingual (English and Arabic), but the story itself is wordless. The introduction reads, "There are two boys and two families in this book. One family lives in a city in Australia [Sydney], and one lives in [the Valley of Roses in] Morocco, North Africa. The lives of the two boys and their families look very different from each other, and they are different. But some things connect them... just as some things are the same for all families no matter where th...more
I can't begin to explain how shocked I was at the horrid stereotypical imagery this book portrays, especially to a child audience. For such a impressionable audience, I don't feel it's exactly a great idea to teach them that people in North Africa, particularly Morocco, live in caves, own chickens, must ride donkeys as transportation, and are oh so lucky to find a computer. We have done enough destruction to the image of Africa for the past 500 years, and I'd be more thrilled to see a book which...more
Mirror is a lush book that tells two tales of two cultures through rich collage pictures that will generate thoughtful conversations. The book opens to tell simultaneous stories of life in Morocco and life in Australia. There are predictable differences, but also surprising similarities between the two worlds. This is a wordless picture book for the most part, although some text is written in the two very different writing systems and languages of these two cultures--a point of curiosity in itse...more
Mirrors is two picture books in one as Jeannie Baker compares the daily tasks of a family from Australia and a family from Morocco, North Africa. The pictures show how the families wake up in the morning, prepare breakfast, go shopping, perform household tasks, make dinner, and spend quality time together. While the two cultures vary greatly, there are also many similarities within the tasks. Overall, a reader can gain a lot of knowledge about this new culture while also respecting someone from...more
Jul 27, 2011
Lindsey
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
esl,
international,
middle-east,
multicultural,
picture-books,
bilingual,
aussie,
award-winners
Whenever I start a book by Jeannie Baker, I'm always a bit freaked out by her collages. They look real and also not. That combination always does me in. After I get over the strangeness of her work, I am always taken in by her message. This book focuses on the parallel lives of two families living in two different cultures (Australia and Morocco). I expected to see similarities and differences, but what I found shocking was the extent of the detail on the pages. I have no idea how long it took J...more
"Mirror" is a wordless picture book comparing two families; one family is from Australia and the other family is from Morocco. One side of the book shows pictures and daily life of the family in Australia, while the other side of the book shows the family in Morocco. I really enjoyed this wordless book. I thought the illustrations told an exact story, with each illustration comparing the lives of the families. The illustrations were clear. As a wordless book I wondered at first if I would be abl...more
Mirror is a fascinating wordless picture book look into the day of two families living parallel lives across the globe from each other-one in Australia and the other in Morocco. The book is split into two separate stories which face each other and mirror an equivalent activity on the opposite page (yeah, it's shelf life is going to be short-for sure). The story is powerfully told through collage and has peace through understanding written all over it without saying a word. If you can stand the b...more
When I was a kid I was fascinated by photographer Peter Menzel’s book Material World: A Global Family Portrait. Menzel arranged for a team of photographers to visit 30 different countries, live with a “statistically average” family for one week, and then, at the end of the week, take a photograph of the family standing outside their home, with all their possessions surrounding them. As you’d expect, the images vary quite a bit. Somewhere along the way my parents acquired an interactive CD-ROM at...more
Dec 12, 2011
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Jeannie Baker’s work and cross cultural stories and wordless picture books
The collage illustrations in this book are amazing. The textures make everything look so real. And it’s the pictures that tell the story as this is a virtually wordless picture book.
These two intersecting stories are not exactly mirrors of each other so I don’t know that it’s got an ideal title, though the author’s note at the end does explain it, and I enjoyed seeing the inhabitants and scenery in the two settings: the Valley of Roses in southern Morocco and Sydney, Australia, the latter being...more
These two intersecting stories are not exactly mirrors of each other so I don’t know that it’s got an ideal title, though the author’s note at the end does explain it, and I enjoyed seeing the inhabitants and scenery in the two settings: the Valley of Roses in southern Morocco and Sydney, Australia, the latter being...more
5 likes · like · see review
My library bought this! Yay!
Just opened it and was immediately struck by "The Western and Moroccan stories..." Um, really, Australia considers itself part of the West? I guess, in the sense of Oriental and Occidental... but then Morocco is Eastern? Hmm....
Other than that, absolutely wonderful. The author's note was helpful. The art surpassed Baker's Home and Window because it included humor such as the Australian father using a paint can as a dining stool.
One of the best 'small world' themed boo...more
Just opened it and was immediately struck by "The Western and Moroccan stories..." Um, really, Australia considers itself part of the West? I guess, in the sense of Oriental and Occidental... but then Morocco is Eastern? Hmm....
Other than that, absolutely wonderful. The author's note was helpful. The art surpassed Baker's Home and Window because it included humor such as the Australian father using a paint can as a dining stool.
One of the best 'small world' themed boo...more
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