Same, Same But Different Summary

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Same, Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw The book that I chose for this assignment is Same, Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. At first, I thought it would be very difficult to find a book that was suitable for my presentation and it was not until I went to my school practicum that I found one. The theme for the week was rainbows, colours and diversity and to help children understand more about the different cultures around the world, my mentor teacher read Kostecki-Shaw’s story. The story caught my attention through its detailed and beautifully illustrated drawings. I was nervous at first to read the story to my group because I was afraid that they might not find it as interesting as I did or might not see the significance…show more content…
This is a beautifully written story about two boys, Kailash from India and Elliot from America who develop a friendship, while being on opposite sides of the world. They become pen pals through a school project and send letters and share pictures about their worlds with one another. Koestecki-Shaw details the unique features of each child’s culture and repeats the popular saying from Southeast Asia, “same, same, but different.” By using repetition, it emphasizes the significance of diversity and the idea of being the same, yet different throughout the text. We noticed that she writes in a very positive tone. She celebrates the differences between the two characters and allows the reader to see the American and Indian cultures side-by-side. Within our group, we agreed that the book is more suitable for children in grades one to five. This picture book can help them to explore new cultures, as well as their own and teach them that even though they might look different compared to others, they are all the same in some ways. Children that are younger may still be able to understand the picture book through the images and if it is read and explained to them. The story also highlights the importance of human rights, as it shows how everyone’s culture is important though the diverse illustrations of buildings, school life and home/family life. Koestecki-Shaw does not discriminate or limit what is being shown of one culture over the other. Moreover, what amazes me about the picture book is how diverse it is, as it portrays America as being a country with not only white people, but black, Indian and Asian people as well. Even though the story focuses on these two characters, the story incorporates children of other cultures in the background. The story also contains large and different colour fonts, which not only emphasizes the theme of

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