Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids by Ron Hall, Denver Moore

Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids by Ron Hall, Denver Moore ISBN-13: 9780718091798 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Released: Feb. 7, 2017

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
This remarkable story shows what can happen when we choose to help. Based on the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different As Me, this book tells the true story of Denver Moore and Ron Hall, who also created the delightful illustrations in this book.


My Review:
Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids is juvenile nonfiction--the autobiography of Denver Moore told in a simple, brief way. He started by talking about his childhood on a cotton plantation in Louisiana during the Great Depression. When he grew up, he no longer wanted to be a sharecropper, so he traveled to a city. He couldn't get a job, so he became a homeless person who felt no one cared about him. Ron Hall and others eventually reached out to him and showed him God's love. Denver Moore then worked to help other homeless people. The lesson tagged on at the end is that "nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody."

The illustrations are by Ron Hall, but they look like a child drew them. They're very simple and lack detail. These vague, child-like drawings seem more suited to a made-up story or a story told by a child. Since this is an autobiography told by adults, I'd have preferred clear illustrations showing what life was really like or even some pictures of these people and places (if any existed) to help ground the story in reality.

I like reading Christian autobiographies to children, and this was worth reading once. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, though.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.