When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth

by Jamie Lee Curtis

Book Overview

"Exuberant--a winsome, upbeat work." --Publishers Weekly

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell perfectly capture a little girl's simple, joyous celebration of herself, as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty height of four and a half years.

This spirited view of growing up is perfect to share at home or in a classroom, as kids will respond to the exuberant pleasures of growing freedom and independence.

When...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060210788
• ISBN13: 9780060210786
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.8" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A delight to read to youngsters

The combination of delightful illustrations and simple words evoking the mind of a child make this book, like all of Curtis' creations, a pleasure to read to youngsters and to get fun reactions about what and who they think they were as babies. I'm glad that a granny got a place in the book too, catching the little grandchild at the bottom of a long slide. That's me today. I like how Curtis weaved in the importance of reading to children at night, and I vote for her book to be one of the choices. Her love as a mother and understanding of children shine through the pages.Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

Something every child could relate to!

This is the first year that I am teaching first grade. I read this book to my class then asked them to draw a picture of what he or she remembered from when they were little. Every child had an idea! As the students were drawing pictures I asked them about their memory and wrote a sentence or two for them to copy (this was only the third week of first grade). The parents will love to see these at conferences! A Fun book and a great writing prompt!

A real treat

What a wonderful idea! It's a celebration of kid-hood (vs baby-dom), about a girl who looks back on her childhood from the grand old age of four and a half years and marvels at all the things she can do now. Like braid her hair, go to school, eat pizza and paint your toes (bubblegum) pink.It's infectious and a real treat! Great to give to an older child who may be feeling a bit left out now that a new baby has invaded the household.

A favorite

We just love this book! We read it over and over again, always finding something new. My two yr old loves the part about "painting toenails bubblegum pink." I think for all babies making that transistion from baby to toddler, to big sister or big brother, this is a terrific book. Superbly illustrated and well written, the author really gets to the toddlers level in her desciptions. My toddler really relates!

For once it's not about the baby!

The pictures are great fun. If you have to read the book 20 or 30 times, it helps to have something new peek at you out of those rich pictures every once in a while. And I love the story too. This book is about being a big kid, versus a being a baby. Too many new sibling books make the new baby the subject. I think most new big siblings have had just about enough of those darn babies. And it's funny. My daughter and I disagree about what's really happening in the picture that goes with the part about time-outs, but we both think it's funny.