Rapper and a Chilren's Book Author

Just the Two of Us
Written by Will Smith
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Published by Scholastic Press

Copyright 2001
28 pages
Historical Fiction

 

This was an easy book for me to choose. Who wouldn’t want to read a book by Will Smith? He is a well-known musician and actor, so I figured that his entertainment success would bleed over into this book. This book also had an intriguing cover that led me to believe it was going to be centered on a father and son that had their own little family. The picture of the dad holding his son up was too warming to pass up. As far as the story itself is concerned, this short book is one of my most cherished favorites of all. Smith turns out to be an incredible writer. The story is written with in a poetic style with elegant rhymes and a simple flow (what else would you expect from a former musician). The plot follows the affections and simple lessons from a father for his son. From the moment the young child is born, the father is constantly doing everything he can to be the best father that he can be. His undying affection and love for the little boy is evident from the time he brings him home to the time he’s old enough to be on his own. The title did give away part of the story, as we later find out that the man was divorced from his wife. However, it doesn’t stop him from encouraging his son to aim for the stars, to have courage, and to be a great man.

This is one of the first books that I chose with a book jacket. The book jacket protects the book, and informs the reader. The images in this book were very detailed and elaborate. They covered each page top to bottom. It looks as if the illustrator painted the pages with acrylic paint. The text with in the book is very informal. It is in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. The words are all typed on top of the pictures.  Even though the text is all written on top of the pictures, they are all mostly opposite the focus of the illustration. This may a slight but of very formal text mixed in.

            This book could be used in a classroom in a Literacy Lesson. The book follows a poetry format. The students could write their own poem about their life. They could include their hobbies, family, and many other things about their everyday life. The teacher could talk about the life of Will Smith and his career in music. The teacher could talk about how songs are really just poems that are sung, and then the students could write their own song. The teacher could extend a read aloud into a math lesson. She could take an inventory about each student’s favorite hobby. The teacher could put the results on the board, and then require the students to make a graph of the hobbies.