Mixed Me!

by Taye Diggs, Shane W Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

Mom and Dad say I'm a blend of dark and light:

"We mixed you perfectly, and got you just right."

Mike has awesome hair. He has LOTS of energy! His parents love him. And Mike is a PERFECT blend of the two of them.

Still, Mike has to answer LOTS of questions about being mixed. And he does, with LOTS of energy and joy in this charming story about a day in the life of a mixed-race child.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250047199
Publisher:	Feiwel Friends
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	93,718
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD440L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Taye Diggs is an actor whose awards include the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. His performance credits include motion pictures (The Best Man Holiday, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Chicago), stage (Rent, Wicked), and television (The Good Wife, Murder in the First, Private Practice). He lives in Los Angeles and New York City with his son, Walker.

Shane W. Evans is the illustrator of numerous award-winning books for children, including Underground, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, We March,a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012, and and Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.His is also the illustrator of The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pickney, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teens finalist. He lives with his wife and daughter in Kansas City, Missouri.

Editorial Reviews

…a refreshingly jazzy look at a mixed-race child's world…Evans's effervescent collages are an ideal match for the riffing, self-possessed voice Diggs gives Mike.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 09/28/2015
“See, my dad’s a deep brown and my mom’s rich cream and honey. Then people see me, and they look at us funny.” Diggs and Evans follow 2011’s Chocolate Me! with a boy’s utterly self-confident ode to his family and himself. Mike has his mother’s red hair, and it spills across the pages like a cumulus crowd as he races around the neighborhood and the soccer field—this is a boy on the move. Mike’s unerring sense of self (“I’m a beautiful blend of dark and light”) and the powerful love that surrounds him make this a rewarding, valuable read for families of any makeup. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Mike's unerring sense of self (“I'm a beautiful blend of dark and light”) and the powerful love that surrounds him make this a rewarding, valuable read for families of any makeup.” —Publisher's Weekly, starred review

“[A] well-written, fun story of acceptance, friendship, and love. The text, colors, and design make this a good choice for read-alouds, but there are many details in the artwork (usually containing the word “mixed” or a synonym thereof) that make it good for one-on-one sharing.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Some kids call him “Mixed-up Mike,” but the protagonist makes clear that he isn't mixed-up at all—just mixed . . . Mike's confidence in his own appearance and coolness as well as the way he proudly embodies diversity, including a certain level of androgyny, make this a refreshing read. Evans' integration of rough-textured fabrics into lively and colorful mixed-media illustrations will make readers want to reach out and touch them . . . If all kids had the confidence about who they are that Mike has, what a wonderful world this would be.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“For the millions of mixed-race Americans who have to endure the constant questioning of their identity, [Mike] has an answer: “I'm a beautiful blend of dark and light, / I was mixed up perfectly, / and I'm JUST RIGHT!” . . . The story's joyful message will resonate with multiracial readers and their families, leaving them with the cheeky takeaway: if you have a problem with me, it's your problem.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

Mike acts and talks really cool and he will be the first to tell you that he may be a little guy, but he’s a guy in a hurry. Not only that, but he does not like the nickname the other kids gave him: “Mixed-up Mike.” No, not at all, because Mike knows that he is perfect just the way he is. In fact, just between you and Mike, he might be better than perfect; because even though he is a mixed race kid, he does not choose his friends based on the color of their skin. No, a friend is a friend, no matter what color he is; even if the other kids do not get it, he does. Written in first person and incorporating a hip (maybe even a hip-hop) style of talking, this delightful book makes no bones about what mixed-race children have to face in society and how they need to stand up for themselves and be proud of who they are. Each two-page spread has a few lines of text just long enough, and with just enough rhyme, to catch the attention of young listeners. An added benefit is that children may easily memorize some of the lines and learn to read the words. The large illustrations contain lots of different colors. This is the second book by this duo, a well-known actor and illustrator; earlier, they had teamed up to write Chocolate Me! Children of color and their families and friends are likely to enjoy both stories, and they will probably applaud the books’ feisty attitude of optimism and assertiveness. Reviewer: Leona Illig; Ages 4 to 6.

Children's Literature - Leona Illig

★ 2015-07-15
Some kids call him "Mixed-up Mike," but the protagonist makes clear that he isn't mixed-up at all—just mixed. With his curly, red zigzag hair, tan skin and green eyes, Mike likes to skateboard and go fast inside and outside, wearing a colorful patchwork cape. The kids at school tell him that his parents don't match, and other people stare at them when they're out as a family. But Mike loves his deep-brown, bald-headed dad and his cream-and-honey, red-haired mom, and clearly they love him too. What's more, they declare that they mixed Mike perfectly "and got you JUST RIGHT!" Mike's confidence in his own appearance and coolness as well as the way he proudly embodies diversity, including a certain level of androgyny, make this a refreshing read. Evans' integration of rough-textured fabrics into lively and colorful mixed-media illustrations will make readers want to reach out and touch them. Readers will also find this an easy book to set to music or rap, thanks to its rhyme and cadence. The takeaway message remains one that all children need to embrace: "I'm doing my thing, so don't forget it. / If you don't get it, then you don't get it." If all kids had the confidence about who they are that Mike has, what a wonderful world this would be. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews