About The Book This book is about celebrating who we are and embracing our differences with acceptance and joy.
Sometimes I’ll overhear people say negative things about a person because of the color of their skin, perceived faith or ethnicity, or any other myriad of reasons. When this happens, I immediately think of the people in my life, the different races, cultures and faiths that make up our one beautiful family. More often than not, they are talking about someone like a person I know and love. I could not find a book that looked like my family; definitely not one that celebrated our differences and our love for each other. This hole in children's books became even more urgent when my daughters began raising children of their own. So I wrote one! And with the talented, creative power of Damon Guthrie as illustrator, we have created a unique window into the best of the human family. Now, we need your help to get "If You Looked At Me" into the hands of children everywhere. - Wanda Remmers, Author Meet The Author In high school I noticed how unfair people’s judgement of each other - based upon skin color, etc. - was. It affected me then, but not in the same way or to the same degree as when, years later, I gave birth to my first daughter. She is African American and...me. My second daughter came just a few years later (she is the narrator in the book) and she is Mexican American and me. Since then, I have been blessed to meet and love so many more people - all wonderfully different. I wanted to find a way to share that love and celebrate those differences, while also, hopefully, inspiring others to find pride and honor in not just who we are, but how we are different. Some of the people I have met and loved are in the book. So many more are not, yet no less loved. I hope you enjoy the book and come back to share stories about the people you love.
- Wanda Remmers, Author 
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Meet the CharactersWhy We Need My Mom's Book... I remember being a kid walking down the street feeling people staring at us- my mom with pale skin and blond hair, my sister with olive skin and long brown curls, and me with brown skin and wild, free locks. I am not sure if they were scared, or sad, or curious or what they were feeling. But they were staring, and I felt different. This book, my mom's book, reminds us that we are all "different". All of us have family members that have more, need more or work harder than others. That is because we are all human, part of the same tapestry of colors and textures, skills and abilities.
I wish I understood that as a kid. Or better yet, that we all knew how alike we really are. Then no one would be staring, and everyone would be smiling. - Kori Sanchez Smith 
Meet the Illustrator |