Author Study: Angela Johnson

Title: Do Like Kyla

Author: Angela Johnson

Illustrator: James E. Ransome

Picture book for ages (approximately) 5 and up

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Summary:

This book is about two sisters, one younger and one older (Kyla). The little sister in this story tries the whole time to do everything just like her older sibling. By the end of the story the theme switches and Kyla finds herself following instead of leading.

Opinion:

I’m not sure this is Johnson’s best work. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing inappropriate about this book and I see no reason to keep children from reading it, I just don’t think it is as good as some of her others I have/will mention in my blog. The story line reminded me of a cheesy commercial, cute kid following older sister and eventually it’s the other way around. There was nothing that grabbed me or held me in. There was no real deep valid point to me, however since this is an opinion I’m sure someone could find one, there was nothing that I really related to. It seemed, to me, to be a string of pointless events leading to a pointless ending. When I read I like my reading to have substance, something that makes me stop and analyze, for me, there was just nothing like that in this book.

In contrast to the story line, the illustrations in this book are wonderful. They are soft yet detailed and, in my opinion are far more interesting than the story itself. My favorite would be the two page spread showing the girls walking back from the store in the snow. The colors used are perfect for a crisp winter morning. For me, the pictures in this book made the book and are the only reason it rated a three.

This is an okay picture book and although I didn’t particularly enjoy the story, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through the pictures. As far as classroom curriculum goes, I’m not sure I would include it in a genre study or anything like that, however I see no reason to keep it off my classroom library shelf for interested readers. The only way I see myself using this book outside of on my shelf would be possibly in a winter unit or theme for younger children because the illustrations are so very “winter.”