Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children

by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Book Overview

"Am I black or white or am I American?" "Why don't my eyes look like yours?" "Why do people always call attention to my 'different' hair?" Helping a child understand his mixed racial background can be daunting, especially when, whether out of honest appreciation or mean-spiritedness, peers and strangers alike perceive their features to be "other." Drawing on psychological research and input from over fifty multiracial families, Does Anybody Else...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738209503
• ISBN13: 9780738209500
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Just what the doctor ordered

As a Multiracial teen this book helped me navigate the strange waters I found myself drowning in. It doesn't read like a unrealistic "turn that frown upside down" Dr. Seuss book; instead approaches the subject in a straight forward intelligent manner. Contains IMO the most valid sense of what makes the difference between a healthy self identify and self hate/defensive racism (when you come to loathe/distance yourself from a group to protect yourself from further harm)in mixed race kids. All my friends now starting multi hued families that come to me for advice , receive this book as a gift. As I wish some kind soul would've done for my parents. I strongly recommend this book to parents of multiracial children *especially if your child will garner a lot of (confusing/unwanted) attention based on their physical differences from their peers/ or physical comparison to their parents* You can't distract them with toys/games to keep them from processing incidents or procrastinate addressing the issue, forever. Children are more observant then we give them credit for; and the questions that go unanswered speak volumes. It's also a cathartic read for us mixed adult that had to figure it out on our own. It shed a lot of light on how I processed and internalized confusing/awkward events as a child and convinced me to let go of some of the child-like logic/hang ups still effecting me. The only way to deal with some complications are to face them in the light of day for what they are and your options. We do the best we have with the tools we have at the moment. Sometimes the quick fixes we use to cope, can become a larger problems in the future; & if we don't evolve our thinking and problem solving skills. This book prompted the catalyst that took me from tragic little mixed girl to the grounded multi ethnic woman I am today. Give the book a try, it'll be money and time well spent.

Just what the doctor ordered

As a Multiracial teen this book helped me navigate the strange waters I found myself drowning in. It doesn't read like a unrealistic "turn that frown upside down" Dr. Seuss book; instead the subject is approached in a straight forward manner. This book contains IMO the most valid sense of what makes the difference between a healthy self identify and self hate/defensive racism (when you come to loathe/distance yourself from a group to protect yourself from further harm)in mixed race kids. All my friends now starting multi hued families that come to me for advice, receive this book as a gift. As I wish some kind soul would've done for my parents. I strongly recommend this book to parents of multiracial children *especially if your child will garner a lot of (confusing/unwanted) attention based on their physical differences from their peers/ or physical comparison to their parents* You can't distract them with toys/games to keep them from processing incidents or procrastinate addressing the issue, forever. Children are more observant then we give them credit for and the questions that go unanswered speak volumes. It's also a cathartic read for us mixed adults that had to figure it out on our own. It shed a lot of light on how I processed and internalized confusing/awkward events as a child and convinced me to let go of some of the child-like logic/hang ups still effecting me. The only way to deal with some complications are to face them in the light of day for what they are. We do the best we have with the tools we have at the moment. Sometimes the quick fixes we use to cope, can become a larger problems in the future if we don't evolve our thinking and problem solving skills. This book prompted the catalyst that took me from tragic little mixed girl to the grounded multi ethnic woman I am today. Give the book a try, it'll be money and time well spent.

Finally a Book that Focuses on Asian-Caucasian children!

Great book! I was pleased to find it because there seem to be so few books that discuss Asian/Caucasian multiracial issues as thoroughly as this one does. Most other books seem to concentrate on African American/Caucasian issues -- a worthy issue I'm sure, but not my life. I loved her organization: she concentrated on specific times in the children's lives and how they perceive race at each time. My smart, beautiful, Japanese/Caucasan daughter is only three, but I get the "is she yours?" question way too frequently. I'm sure I will be consulting this book for some time.

Highly recommend

As the mother of 4 beautiful biracial children, I was delighted to find this intelligent, realistic book. My children are often asked "What are you?" and attempts are made to label them as Arabic, Latin, Greek,Black, Italian, etc, etc. This makes it difficult for them when they are at ages where all of us were trying to "find ourselves". My daughter has also had a difficult time, often meeting women who instantly dislike her based on her appearance alone. This book was refreshing and helped me to realize others go thru the same. I was amazed at the amount of research and fact finding this author included. The everyday anecdotes was also most truthful, speaking from personal experience. great find for anyone who knows, loves, interacts with those of more than 1 race!!

excellent book for parents

Thank goodness this isn't another academic tome dealing with racial tensions and ethnicity in the U.S. Finally, we have a book geared for parents that is intelligent, informed and useful. The scripts alone--Ms. Nakazawa's suggestions for what to say to children in response to (or in anticipation of) challenging situations--are worth the price of the book. I know of at least one school that is giving away free copies of this book to all the parents of multiracial and transracially adoptive children in their school. I hope, for the sake of our children, that more schools will get the word out about this book.