Baker, Jeannie. Mirror. Sommerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN: 0763648485.
Author / Illustrator Website: http://www.jeanniebaker.com/
Media: Mixed, Paint and Paper Collage
Awards: Horn Book Fanfare Award, 2010
Special Notations: 2010 Copyright Date
Annotation: Mirror simultaneously tells the story of the daily life of two boys and their respective families. Baker shares the similarities and differences in the boys’ lives through vivid illustrations, nearly devoid of text.
Personal Reaction: Baker’s Mirror is an invitation into the lives of two boys, one living in Morocco, the other in Sydney. As much as Mirror is a picture book, it is an experience in observation. As I turned the pages of the Sydney boy’s life from right to left and the pages of the Moroccan boy’s life from left to right, I was able to compare and contrast the two lives. Nothing out of the ordinary happens on these pages; the reader is simply a witness to daily life. I was struck by the author’s ability to tell a story in nearly all pictures so profoundly. Mirror is about recognizing that we are all humans, all living somewhere on this Earth, going about our daily lives. This book would be enjoyable for ages 4 and up, but best appreciated by older readers. The boys’ stories are a wonderful starting point for discussions about different countries, cultures, lifestyles and languages. Older readers may notice that the parallel stories open outwardly, inviting a side by side comparison of landscapes, clothing, daily activities, families and material goods. Mirror is a captivating book that invites readers to experience and consider the lives around them.
