Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Very cute and easy to read..the illustrations are well done. A story about two animals that find common ground and become friends in spite of their physical differences. Excellent for older toddlers.

Miki is looking for a friend just like him. He's excited when a new neighbor moves into the zoo... only to find that Raffa is as different as can be. Or is she?

Beautiful illustrations accompany a sweet story about two seemingly opposite animals as they discover similarities that delve deeper than just what's on the outside. This book will effortlessly prompt conversation among children about what it means to surround yourself with others who, though may not look like you, share what's really important.

Miki the Meerkat is excited to learn that she's getting a new neighbor at the zoo - right up until she meets Raffa, the giraffe, who is just too terribly different for a friendship. When a storm comes, though, the two discover they've got much more in common than they originally believed. Very cute story about focusing on similarities instead of differences (and it doesn't hurt that meerkats are adorable).

Dodd's story and Capizzi's illustrations tell a tale about a little zoo and its newest resident. Miki was excited to hear that he would be getting a new neighbor just like him, but was shocked when the neighbor turned out to be Raffa, a giraffe. As soon as they met, both Miki and Raffa focused on how they were different and why they couldn't be friends. After discovering they both liked the moon, they figured out they did have a lot in common after all. It was a very cute story, but didn't leave me wanting to read it again. I was also a little put off by the focus on differences when they first met, but some children do feel this way. Overall, it was a cute story with great illustrations and a very useful message.

Thank you NetGalley and Lion Children's for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

This is a sweet little book about how we can find the greatest friendships in the most surprising places. Miki and Raffa seem to have nothing in common, but they come to realise they are actually very similar, and their differences are very interesting to each other, and actually make them better friends. A really lovely story.

This was a really cute children's book about two different animals and how they become friends despite their many differences. Miki is a meerkat who lives with his mother in a zoo. One day a new family moves in next door and Miki is excited to make a new friend until he realizes that his new neighbor is a giraffe. Raffe the giraffe and Miki the meerkat have many difference, from their size, to where they sleep and what they eat. But they end up finding similarities between them, despite all of the physical differences, showing friends come in all different shapes and sizes. The illustrations are really cute and I am a big fan of children's books that feature animals.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Miki the meerkat is excited to hear that a new kid is moving in next door, but when she finds out Raffa is a giraffe, neither of them see how two creatures so different could ever be friends. However, one night circumstances bring them together and they realize that not only can they be friends, but having friends who are different enhances the way we see the world.

What a lovely little book! The illustrations are super cute, which is a make or break for me when it comes to children’s books. Even better is the story. With three 2nd graders at home, this book is incredibly pertinent as we’re entering the phase where they are starting to be influenced by their peers. It’s an excellent time to strengthen the foundation of acceptance and independent thinking we’ve laid for them, and this book is a wonderful way to reopen that conversation. In an honest and elementary fashion, Just Like You reminds children that we often have more in common with others than we realize, and that difference can be a really good thing as well. Absolutely an appropriate read for toddlers through mid-elementary.

This book didn't really excite me. While it has a decent message about different people finding common ground, I thought the story was kind of boring.

Also, if you're going to write a story that uses the need for sleep as a commonality, it might be better not to use a giraffe. Giraffes need very little sleep. This book also shows Raffa sleeping standing up, but it's usually older giraffes who do that.

The pictures are colourful and cartoonish, but they didn't really do anything for me. Kids might like them, though.

Overall, while I liked the message, the story was kind of weak and the illustrations just didn't excite me. I'm sure the book has an audience... but I'm not it.

Sometimes children have a hard time making and maintaining friendships, especially if there are clear differences between them. Just LIke You by Sarah J. Dodd is a delightful book about two very different animals who find a way to come together in spite of their differences. The illustrations are inviting, and the book is short enough for brief attention spans.

This is a wonderful children's book with beautiful illustrations. It teaches that just because someone is different than you doesn't mean you can't be friends. A valuable lesson for children and adults. Thank you Lion Hudson LTD via NetGalley for the free copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Sarah J. Dodd's "Just Like You" is a straightforward children's picture book about a meerkat and a giraffe finding a common friendship even though there are obvious differences. Giusi Capizzi provides delightful, uncluttered artwork to match the tone of the story. Very enjoyable. 4 stars

#JustLikeYou #NetGalley

Sweet story of a meerkat and a giraffe becoming friends. The zookeeper tells Miki the meerkat that a new friend is moving into the exhibit next to his. Miki is surprised when the new friend tuns out to be a giraffe named Raffa. The two are sure they have nothing whatsoever in common as one is little, the other tall. One talks to bugs, the other birds. But after spending the whole day discussing why they can't be friends, night falls and both find many common interests! Little will enjoy this story. The illustrations were really cute!

My son and I enjoyed sharing this ebook together. The message was clear and simply done .The illustrations are beautiful.
Would recommend to fellow parents. Thank you for letting me review this book.

Super sweet story about 2 young animals, giraffe and meerkat, who meet for the first time. At first, all they can see is their external differences. But late at night, they find each other and realize that they are very similar on the inside.
Lovely illustrations. Great opportunities to use this book as instructing children to look beyond the surface to find out about a person.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Lion Hudson Ltd, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Just Like You by Sarah Dodd is a great book about an unlikely friendship. It helps remind us that our first impressions are not always correct. Lovely illustrations accompany the sweet story.

This is a charming book focusing on a friendship between two very different animals. Miki, the meerkat, lives in the zoo with his Mama and is waiting impatiently for a new family to arrive hoping that he will finally have someone like himself to play with and befriend.

When the new residents arrive Miki is very disappointed. He discovers that his new neighbour couldn't be more different. She is a very tall, slender giraffe named Raffa. They introduce themselves and realize very quickly that they couldn't possibility be friends. She is ever so tall and he is small, she sleeps standing up while he sleeps curled up inside his burrow, he eats from the ground and she stretches her neck high and nibbles leaves from the treetops, just to name a few dissimilarities. No, they cannot be friends, as they seem to have nothing in common. But are their deductions about having a friendship accurate?

One night during a crackling thunderstorm their decision changes. Despite their physical differences and life-styles they fearfully cling together and find out that they have more in common than they first realized. From that scary night together they start looking at their world through each other's eyes and to their utter amazement a wonderful friendship ensues.

Kids will learn that differences can be a good thing and can actually unite rather than divide. It's a book about acceptance, friendship, and independent thinking. Don't judge someone on the outside because on the inside there could be many similaraites. The illustrations enrich the text and are lovely to behold. I highly recommend this book and its positive message that will resonate with both the young and old.

A lovely little story about friendship between two very different animals. Teaches children that differences aren’t as import as they seem, not to judge on first impressions and finding common interests. It’s illustrations are adorable and fit so well.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a lovely book about meeting new people, finding common ground, and becoming friends :-) A young meerkat in a zoo gets a new neighbor, and hears that they will be "just like you"! But when it turns out to be a giraffe, they don't see how they have anything in common - they eat differently, sleep differently, etc. But then of course they bond over a shared experience and shared reactions (no spoilers!) and are best friends forever!

Besides the wonderful message to children, I also loved the illustrations - especially capturing the height differential between the two main characters <3 - and a wonderful use of colors!

This is a beautifully illustrated children's picture book that shares the reminder that we can find common ground with others, even if we look and act differently in many ways. This is a great book for 4-6-year-olds who are starting to really recognize the people around them and what makes someone unique.

Recognizing that what is on the insides counts is such a great talking point of this book and our 6-year-old loved reading Just Like You. A big thank you to NetGalley and Lion Hudson for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is a great little book about embracing our differences and acknowledging that despite the fact that someone might look different or come from somewhere different, there are lots of other commonalities that can tie us together as friends. The illustrations are fun and engaging, and the storyline sparks great conversations with your children about friendship. I would recommend.

This is a cute story, and we always need picture books about diversity, accepting differences, and overcoming prejudice. This one tackles all three. I thought the moral was a little heavy-handed, though. And even though Miki and Raffa are kids, I thought that their immediate prejudice toward each other was unrealistic, especially because they’re basing their prejudice not on the fact that they are completely different species and vastly different sizes, but because they sleep in different places. The illustrations are pleasing to the eye, but nothing monumental. Since there are so many books about overcoming prejudice on the current publishing scene, this one just doesn’t do anything to really stand out. I think it’s worth a read, but I would sooner purchase or recommend other titles that tackle the same subject a little more smoothly.

Cute, if a little heavy on the moral. I actually really liked the fact that differences were their beds and food (things we all need) not the more obvious physical aspects.

Miki the meerkat is happy to hear a new family is moving in next door at the zoo and he will soon have a new friend named Raffa that is just like him! Only, Raffa isn’t like him at all. Raffa is a tall giraffe and she and Miki find it hard to see any similarities. They are both just so different.

When Miki can’t get to sleep, he waits for his mom to doze off before climbing out of his burrow to look at the moon. As he climbs out, Miki sees that Raffa is already out there. Raffa also can’t sleep and also enjoys looking at the moon. Some of Miki and Raffa’s similarities quickly become apparent as lightning flashes, thunder booms, and they are both scared. Both come away from the experience realizing that they do have a lot in common.

Just Like You is a cute picture book with an important message given in a friendly way: while we all have differences (and some can be very apparent like our height), we also have many similarities. We don’t have to be exactly the same to be friends, and sometimes our differences help our friends experiences things in a new way.

This is such a wonderfully sweet story that I can't wait to read to my nephew. Using children's love of animals, the tale teaches that you will find connections with people, even if they seem very different.

I really liked this book and think my students will love it too. I love the message it conveys that even through our differences, even the differences between a meerkat and a giraffe, we can still find things we share in common and we can still be friends. I hope this will encourage tolerance, appreciation of others and bonds of friendship between the children who read this story or have this read to them.
The story is short and sweet and follows the reluctant friendship of two very different animals - different in size, sleeping and eating habits, pastimes - in almost every visible way, until night falls and a storm comes...
The animals soon realise they have more in common than they first thought.

Subtitled: Miki the Meerkat Makes a Friend<
My geekiness shows when all I can think of is The Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon tries to find a book about making friends and it's more or less titled the same thing with a different animal and name (lol). I suppose when it comes to children's books there is no sense in being clever as the children will prefer to just know what the book is about whether they are reading it to themselves or having it read to them.

The Story
Alright, let's get to the content of Just Like You. There are a few great things about Sarah J. Dodd's story and a couple I really don't like. While Dodds does a wonderful job of explaining the differences between the two 'soon to be ' friends; a meerkat and a giraffe. She doesn't really do a great job of finding commonalities except that they both like the moon and are afraid of storms. As the differences take up more pages than the similarities it feels a bit odd to me that the outcome is that they can be friends.
Additionally I really don't like how there isn't another spread during the storm that talks about how they will be safe together or can keep each other company. It's inferred but not actually said. And as this is a children's book we should be explicit. The other issue is also with the storm. They show our two animals huddled near a rock with a tree over their heads!! I would definitely have liked them to hunker down in the giraffe's shelter/barn instead. It may seem silly but if a three-year-old has only ever experienced a storm outside based on the book they may choose the wrong place to 'hide' in a storm (ie: not inside their house!). Yes, again it may seem extreme but we have to remember that this may be a child's first exposure to how to cope with a lightning situation. So I like it when all the safety aspects of a situation are thought about.

Illustrations
The illustrations by Giusi Capizzi are superb. Very fun and simple but wonderfully coloured. My favourite spread is when they are looking over the city with all it's lights shining in the dark. I also like that there is no implication that the dark is dangerous or bad but that it's fun and interesting (because we have lights in the city and the moon).

Overall
I think this is an okay story. A good one to grab at the library for a change but not one I would say needs to be a child's home library. That said if your child loves giraffe's or meerkats it might be one that you want to be sure to get for them as they are are the stars of our story. It's also worth noting that Just Like Me is the perfect bedtime story length. Not too many words, not too many spreads and every spread of pages has words on it and not just illustrations. I find it a bit awkward for kiddo's when it's bedtime and there are no words on a page. They want to look at the illustrations but then how long do you wait? So I always like a story that has the right amount of words on each page.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I received an electronic ARC from Lion Hudson through NetGalley.
A young meerkat is excited after the zookeeper tells him a new friend is moving in who is "just like him." He races over to meet his new friend and discovers a young giraffe. They agree they're nothing alike so can't be friends until they discover how much they have in common.
Realistic illustrations bring the animals and their environment to life.
The text is simple to follow for younger readers.
Use to talk about how we're often more alike than different.

Cute book about 2 very different animals who eventually are able to look past their differences and find out what they have in common. I’m always looking for books on kindness and acceptance, and this is another one to add to the home library.

A pleasant story about differences. Smooth text and great pictures. Perfect for preschool and there are a lot of ways for parents and teachers to add extensions to the book to deepen the story and build reading comprehension. Although the story itself wasn't a unique take on the topic, Many kids will enjoy sharing the story with a loved one.

I loved this book Just Like You by Sarah J. Dodd. This book is a lovely little story about two different animals. Miki the meerkat and Raffa is a giraffe.
It teaches you about friendships between them and how they have so many things in common. Plus, not to judge things on their first impressions and how they found common interests.
The illustrations are adorable and just perfect for this sweet small book.

This would make a great present for a small child. I just had to purchase it for my nephew.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Just Like You

by Sarah J. Dodd

illustrated by Giusi Capizzi

Just Like You is the perfect story for teaching children to appreciate commonalities in their friendships. Miki the Meerkat makes a new friend when Raffa the Giraffe becomes Miki’s new neighbor at the zoo. At first the two focus on their differences. Later they discover that they both like to watch the moon when they have trouble sleeping and they’re both scared of lightening and thunder. Soon they learn to appreciate their different perspectives and become fast friends.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lion Hudson Limited for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Children’s Fiction

Notes: Age Range: 3 and up
Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten

Publication: March 23, 2018— Lion Children's Books

I loved this short and sweet little story. It follows the hesitant friendship of two different animals that seem to be unalike in almost every conceivable way, The animals soon realise they have more similarities than they first imagined. I really liked the message that "Just Like You" conveyed. In spite of our differences, even those between a giraffe and a meerkat, we still share some common ground and we can still show one another friendship, tolerance and understanding. The book is very cute with delightful illustrations. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Just Like You by Sarah J. Dodd is a lovely story about friendship.

It is a book about Miki, baby meerkat who lives in a zoo with his mom. He is eagerly awaiting family next door to move in so he can someone just like him to play with.
However, when new friend shows up, not only is she a girl but she is absolutely nothing like Miki, So he decides right away that they simply can't be friends as they are nothing alike.

Charming and heartfelt tale of friendship, how it comes when we least expect it, how we all are basically same and how we all yearn for friends.
It teaches children that even when we don't look alike, even if we don't like same things we still can be friends and enjoy our differences.
It broadness little minds to be open to accept people and not to close their mind to new experiences and people.
Absolutely gorgeous illustrations, which in my case are hugely important and essential part of children's books.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. This picture book is about being different but getting along although your different. It's a good positive message for kids.

Miki the meerkat is excited to hear that there is going to be a new neighbour, but when the neighbour arrives, it is a giraffe. Raffa the giraffe is very different from Miki, how can they be friends? When they are thrown together one night they find out that not only do they have some things in common, but they can be friends even if they are different. The message from this story was pretty obvious. When I read this to my grandson he enjoyed the story, but still felt that they needed to be able to play together if they were going to be friends. I liked the concept, but felt that more time was spent showing how different they were, and very little finding similarities. Perhaps he is still a bit young for the story (he is only 5). I must say that the illustrations by Giusi Capizzi are wonderful. They are simple but beautifully coloured and child-friendly. Overall, this is a cute story that has a nice message.

Such a sweet story with beautiful illustrations. Reminds us to look at the beauty of being different and seeing life through different perspectives. Allows for lots of fun interactions and discussion with your little ones.

Just Like You is a great start to teaching empathy to toddlers and kindergarteners. This picture book can show your little one that different skin colour is just simply a different skin colour. It is especially useful if there’s a minority in your child’s class or playgroup. Naturally, people tend to group up with those they feel they have most in common and this behaviour is evident even at an early age. With children, what they see (hence judge first) is your physical appearance. Only after they overcome that they explore shared interests and at this level, it is the most basic things like favourite toys, favourite pretend-play scenarios, colours, food.

On the application level, Just Like You teaches your child to recognize similarities that come with physical differences and to approach a new relationship with an open mind. I 100% recommend this book to be on your child’s shelf.

Thanks to Lion Children’s Books for providing me with a copy. All opinions are my own and are based on the advanced digital review copy.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A cute concept and cute pictures. An important message about how you can be different but still have things in common.