Kid is a Kid is a Kid

A group of kids share the silly questions they always hear, as well as the questions they would rather be asked about themselves.

Book Genre:

Picture Books

Audience:

ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1

Diversity

Written by

Sara O'Leary

Illustrated by

Qin Leng

Book Description
“Being the new kid is hard,” a child in the school playground tells us. “I can think of better things to ask than if I’m a boy or a girl.” Another child is always asked why she has her nose in a book. Someone else gets asked where they come from. One after another, children share the questions they’re tired of being asked again and again — as opposed to what they believe are the most important or interesting things about themselves!

Sara O’Leary’s observant text and Qin Leng’s expressive illustrations tell a story about children who are all different, all themselves, all just kids. But there is one question they’d all be happy to hear: “Hey, kid! Do you want to play?”
Pre-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Introduce the Book
Before reading the story, discuss the cover and the title. Use some of the following prompts to facilitate your discussion:
- What do you notice about the illustration on the front cover? Look closely at the expression on the children’s faces. How do you think they feel? Why?
- Make a prediction of what you think the book will be about.
- What does the title of the book mean? A kid is a kid is a kid.
- Why do you think the illustrator might have chosen many kids for the cover instead of using one kid on the cover?
- Have you ever been the “new kid” at school, in a neighborhood or in another setting? How did you feel? Why?
Post-Reading Activities/ Key Ideas & Details
What Does “A Kid is a Kid” Mean?
After reading the story, discuss the meaning of the title again. What do you think the author means when she says, “a kid is a kid is a kid”?

Next, ask students if saying that a kid is a kid is the same as saying that there aren’t any differences in kids? Why or why not?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
What Are the Kids Doing?
As a class, discuss what the kids on each page are doing. Ask students to think about whether they seem happy or sad. Ask students to discuss if the differences between all of the kids are something to be worried about, or something to be celebrated. Ask students what makes them think this.
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
How Does the New Kid Feel?
Ask students to discuss how the “new kid” felt at the beginning of the story. How did they feel at the end of the story? Why?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Make a New Kid Feel Welcome
Encourage students to think of the ways the other kids make the “new kid” feel welcome.
Post-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy
The Same and Different
Discuss with students the commonalities of the kids, the differences and what the kids learned about each other?
Post-Reading Activities/ Text Forms & Genres
Discuss the Illustrations
Discuss how the details in the illustrations help convey the meaning of the story. Have students explain how the illustrations help tell the story, citing specific places in the book.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Me, Myself and I
Ask students to choose something about themselves that makes them feel special. Have students create a piece of artwork celebrating how they are unique.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
We All Have Things in Common
Have students work with a partner. Ask each partner group to create a list of the things that the two of them have in common. They could also create a joint artwork to illustrate how they are alike.
Post-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy
Too Many Questions
Discuss the questions that the kids in the story felt were annoying. Next, talk about the questions that the kids would have rather been asked. Why? Finally, create a list of positive questions to ask others to find out more about them.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Flower Garden Mural
Have students work on a class mural of a flower garden using a lot of different colors of paint for the flowers. After the mural is complete, have a class discussion about how ALL of the colors are bright and beautiful. Discuss how it is the differences between the colors that make the mural so interesting and vibrant.
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Adjectives for a Unique Me
Have the students create adjectives from their own names. The students should come up with an adjective for each letter in their names. They can have fun coming up with the adjectives that they think best describe them.

For an added art activity, have students create a poster with their name on it and all of the adjectives that make up their acronym. Additionally, they can create a collage of their adjectives and pictures that represent those words.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Act Out the Story
Have students act out the story for another class or in an assembly. Encourage students to play the part of the character that they most identify with. Have students stress the character’s unique abilities during reenactment. Coach students to use fluency and expression when speaking so that the audience can get the full meaning of the story. Provide props for each character.