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

In this sweet picture book, two animal friends, a bunny and a pig, explore the world of their emotions as they attempt to put on a play together. Along the way, they must face a few challenges, such as when the bunny wants them to “be sunflowers and sing a duet,” while the pig would rather “be pirates on a shipwreck.” As they work their way to a successful collaboration, they take turns describing the different ways they act when they are shy, scared, eager, angry and sad. Each two-page spread features the bunny on the left page and the pig on the right, where their words play off each other in rhyme: “When I'm angry I grumble and pout,” says the bunny. “When I'M angry, I kick and SHOUT!” answers the pig. A different typeface for each of them further separates their points of view visually.

Award-winning author-illustrator Geneviève Côté relies on a simple palette of mostly shades of pink and white to keep the focus of each page clearly on the emotion being exuberantly expressed by the animals. This would make an excellent read-aloud for a discussion about feelings and the importance of respecting the feelings of others. The lively give-and-take of the two characters also makes this a wonderful role-playing tool, in which children could choose to take the part of one or the other of the animals. Two previous books, Me and You and Without You, feature the same two characters.

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.

Genevieve Cote's profile page

• Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards, Ontario Arts Council
• Winner, 2014 OLA Best Bet List for Children, OLA's Canadian Materials Committee

Starring Me and You is an applause-worthy exploration of friendship and emotion. Here's hoping there's another encore for these two loveable characters.

Quill & Quire - Starred Review

This title will make a welcome and appropriate addition to any preschool collection.

School Library Journal

Third in a series, the book easily stands alone. Among all the picture-book friendship stories, this one stands out for the younger set.

Kirkus Reviews

This book is set up perfectly for choral reading, since bunny appears on the right side and piggy on the left. This would even be a good choice to be reenacted by classes since it presents a solid message about compromising.

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