Two Mrs. Gibsons

I loved reading this books to my kids at work, it opened their eyes. It showed them that they are not only one skin color but multiple. This book shows a little girl who is biracial, she has a Japanese mother and African American father. In this book though it shows her relationship with her grandmother and mother; she talks about the things they both do to her but how it feels different from the two ladies. I believe this is a good book to read because it one shows students that they are many races and two shows that it is OK to be made of two races.

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations are very enhancing. The artistic style is appealing to the audience due to the vivid colors and the blending of colors. The author uses colors such as red and orange but then used lighter colors to make them pop. Second, the book pushes readers to think about tough issues. Readers are more focused on family and the love family members share; however, in a child's perspective, readers are pushed to think about differences within a multicultural and multiracial family. The main message of this story is that each family member is different than the other, but that shouldn't stop them from loving each other.

This book was a good book. However, I feel that the wording was very repetitive. That would be the only downfall to this book. Every sentence started the same way, “This Mrs. Gibson…This Mrs. Gibson,” which made me tired of reading the book after a while. The mood of the story however was very light and as the reader, I could feel the love that both Mrs. Gibson’s and the child shared. Each page represented one of them and how opposite each one is. However, the narrator still loved everything about both. Which lead to an overall message that even though people are different they can all make you feel a different kind of love that is unique to them.

Two Mrs. Gibsons
Bryan O'Keeffe

I really enjoyed reading this book. I think that as a little child and not understanding the difference between different race and ethnicity this book does a great job. The illustrations in the book help decipher between the Asian and African american Mrs. Gibson. I feel that they fit along well with the book. The text was easy to understand and flowed really well. Especially since the book kept switching back and forth between the different Mrs. Gibson. The plot of the story was really flat. I felt as if there was not a real problem other than the child knowing two Mrs. Gibson's. That was not a problem while reading the book though. I had an easy time being able to understand who the different Mrs. show more Gibson's were. The setting always changed when a different Mrs. Gibson was being talked about.

I would definitely recommend this book to other children and have teachers include this book in their library. This book will help children have an easier time realizing that people can come in different colors, shapes and sizes; this message was extremely clear by displaying this in the title and the illustrations. show less

Summary:
This is a book about a little girl that knows two Mrs. Gibsons. One Mrs. Gibson is her Japanese mother, and the other is her black grandmother. Most of the book goes back and forth in telling how these two women are different, but it also tells us how they are the same.

Personal Reaction:
I think this is a great multicultural book. It can show kids how people from two totally different cultures can have many similarities. These similarities are especially obvious when it comes to caring for the ones they love.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. Have all students construct a family tree with their parents at home and share pictures if possible.
2. Have students bring in multicultural objects to share with the class and research them.

This book is about a girl who is luckily enriched with two cultures, she knows two Mrs. Gibson’s. One is tall, with chocolate skin and was born in America in a state called Tennessee. The other one is small, with vanilla skin and was born in Japan in a town called Gifu. One gives bear hugs and sugars, the other gives soft hugs and sings lullaby’s at night. It continues to compare both Mrs. Gibson’s in both alike ways and different ways. Such as, voice tone, writing, singing and even religion. The small Mrs. Gibson is her mom, Kazumi. The taller Mrs. Gibson is her grandmother, Viola.

This book is great because it shows that families are not always the
same, that differences are ok and should be accepted. It shows the children that show more we are all different and can be a part of more than one culture. The comparisons between the two are clear and well-illustrated.

1. You could use this to introduce a lesson to show different cultures. Show that America is full of all different kinds of people.
2. This could also be used to for an anti-bullying lesson, to show that differences are acceptable. show less

This is a story (well, not much in the way of a plot...) about the author's mother and grandmother, and how through their differences they were, in many ways, the same.

There's not much of a story there, but still, I liked the book quite a bit.