Vance Bollinger – Like Me and You

Illustrated by Lillian Hoban

Words and music by Raffi and Debi Pike

This is a lovely book for many reasons.  It blends together several modalities into one, including ethnic tolerance, song, and a way to unify various cultural perspectives.  Each page includes happy, vibrant pictures done with colored pencils by Lillian Hoban.  The song’s text is structured around the music, which is notated in the back for reference (a very handy edition, eliminating the need for a CD).  The musical structure is verse, chorus, verse chorus.  During the verses, a story is told about numerous kids from around the world, including their names and what country they’re from.  The chorus is about how even though each child is from a unique country, no two are that different than the others because each is the child of a mother and a father.