Two of a Kind

Two of a Kind

by: Jacqui Robbins and Matt Phelan
Ages: 4-7

Kind of in a bind...
While Two of a Kind attempts to allow readers to embrace who they are, even if others don't like what they see, it ultimately fails. The book reinforces stereotypes by drawing "the geeky girls," and "the snobby girls." The text is not very exciting to read and becomes boring and drags along as a set of unpopular girls are made fun of by popular girls. The illustrations are lacking just as much. They are bland and use very soft colors and repeats nearly the same picture on each page. There is a science experiment that is explained in the middle of the book, but has nothing to do with what is happening between the two groups of girls. At many points in the paragraphed text, I felt that the reader is lost and simply trudging along, trying to finish each page. The characters are diverse throughout the book, but the popular girl is white and the unpopular girl is Asian and wears glasses, which I also found slightly stereotypical as well. Although it would not be my first choice for a book to pick up, this book is targeted at early elementary girls (1st and 2nd grade).