• Age: 2 to 5
• Grade: p to k
• Reading age: 2 to 5

Two artistic friends, paintbrushes in hand ... “I wish I were just like you,” says the rabbit to the pig. “I wish I were just like you,” says the pig to the rabbit. As the friends use paintbrushes and a few props to adjust tails, ears and noses, something soon becomes clear: they liked each other better before. “I am me and you are you ... that's why we love each other, me and you!”

This gentle celebration of friendship and individuality by award-winning writer and illustrator Geneviève Côté will reassure young readers that they are loved and special as themselves. It's a book with all-ages appeal and an ideal gift for a child --- or a best friend.

 

 

Enfant, Geneviève Côté adorait dessiner. Elle s'inventait des histoires simplement pour le plaisir de les illustrer. Au fil des ans, elle a continué à nourrir sa passion pour le dessin et les arts, si bien qu'elle a décidé d'en faire une carrière. Après avoir étudié les arts et la communication au Cégep, elle a terminé, en 1987, un baccalauréat en infographie à l'Université Concordia, à Montréal. Geneviève a illustré plus de 25 livres pour enfants. Comme auteure-illustratrice, elle a publié chez Scholastic Quel éléphant? et Je suis là, Petit Lundi. Elle a reçu le Prix du Gouverneur général pour ses illustrations en 2007. Geneviève vit à Montréal et travaille dans un atelier du centre-ville.

 

Geneviève Côté
studied art and graphic design at Concordia University in Montreal. She has
illustrated numerous books for children. She also enjoys writing her own
stories: Quel éléphant? (What Elephant?) and Je suis là, petit Lundi (With You Always, Little Monday)
were the first books that she both wrote and illustrated. Côté's editorial
art has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and other
publications. Her books have received three nominations for the Governor
General's Award for Illustration, one of which she went on to win. She has
also won the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award.

 

Geneviève Côté's profile page

• Winner, Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities, IBBY
• Short-listed, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, Canadian Children's Book Centre
• Short-listed, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, Canadian Library Association
• Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre
• Short-listed, Book of the Year, Foreword Magazine

Text and illustrations effectively collaborate to create a cozy, cheerful book. A welcome addition with broad appeal.

School Library Journal

The banter of the first-person dialogue is childlike and exuberant and will have kids smiling while subtly reinforcing individuality. Simply charming.

Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Me and You

How many times have we admired someone else so much that we want to be that person? Children too, while at play, notice their friend’s approach and way of being as quite different from themselves. Often they imitate each other, back and forth, their game being also a way to develop and establish their own identity.

Me and You explores, with refreshing simplicity and a bouncy lightness of text and art, one of the “existential” aspects of being in the world: who we are in respect to someone else.

Bunny and Piggy, while involved in the creative process of painting, become keenly aware of each other’s differences. Great admiration ensues on the part of each for the other, so much so that they attempt to transform themselves into the other.

Geneviève Côté cleverly focuses on physical characteristics that define the distinctive quality of Bunny and Piggy. The two friends’ sense of wonder and fascination for each other is expressed by depicting the other’s traits, even the less attractive, as most desirable.

In the end, Bunny and Piggy realize how ridiculous it is to assume another’s identity. A deeper appreciation of the other and of their own selves concludes this charming tale. How satisfying to feel a sense of joy about everyone’s uniqueness. This is a delightful book for anyone, most especially for a young child.

Me and You

“I love you just the way you are...” Bunny and Piggie are best friends who notice that they are different from each other. They imagine what life would be like if they were each other. They learn that they are best off as they are and both are works of art that way. This heartwarming look at animal friends is captured in gentle watercolour artwork.