When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth

A funny look at how preschoolers view their lives and all the things they can do now that they aren't babies. Cute illustrations.

From the eyes of a four year old, she recounts what things were like when she was little.

This is a cute story about a little girl who loves to play make believe and want to be bigger than she really is. This book would be a great gift to a pre-teen so she can remember the days of being innocent.

Summary: A little girl talks about her current life as a four year old and compares it to when she was a baby. She describes various ways in which her life has changed. She says that she used to cry and now she uses words. She also talks about not having to ride in a baby car seat anymore and being

Show More

able to swim without floaties. She says she didn't understand many things when she was a baby, like what dreams were or who she was, but now she does.
This simple picture book is full of detailed illustrations in which the narrator is present both as a baby and as a four year old. These interesting pictures make the book more enjoyable. This a great book to read to preschoolers who are around four years old because the text is simple and they can relate to it.

Show Less

This story is narrated by a four-year-old girl describing the differences between when she was little (a baby) and now. She tells of being able to paint her nails, fix her hair, help her mom, and other things that she can do now that she couldn't when she was little.

The illustrations in this book

Show More

were done by Laura Cornell and they are marvelous. They are so colorful and fun to look at.

For this book I would have kids tell one thing that they can do now that they couldn't when they were younger. I would make a list and, as a class, we could make a poster describing all the things.

Show Less

A cute little story about a four yeat old telling about the things she can do now that she could not do when she was a baby.

Very cute, great analogies/memories

Best and most appropriate for K-1st grade. This story is told from a four year old girl's point of view. This young girl is looking back and reflecting on her childhood. She tells about all the things she couldn't do when she was little, but is capable of doing now. This story is all about growing

Show More

up. Children would love the humorous text and illustrations.
Uses in classroom:
-read aloud
-family thematic unit
-all about me thematic unit
-prompt for journal entries
-prompt for creative writing
-model book for collaborative class book - each child could tell about one thing they couldn't or weren't allowed to do as babies/toddlers, but are able to do now.

Show Less

I am impressed with the book itself. This is a book that can help children learn aboutepetition and patterning. Showing them without even realizing it. I also love how it made me think about times when i was younger. It can help childrens minds flowing and think of there favorite memories..

This is a book about a four year old girl who start to reflects back when she was a baby. This is her version of how she is different now that she is 4 years old and what a differences it makes. She starts by saying when she was a baby she cried a lot but now I am a big girl. She talks about how

Show More

different the world around her is now that she can see and do for herself. She makes know that there are still something she likes but now she understands them better.

Personal Reaction
The colors and art work in the book are very inviting to preschoolers with bold colors.

Extension Ideas
1. Have family make a family collage
2. Discuss feelings
3. Make a growth Chart for the class.

Show Less

This story surveys the memoir of a four year olds childhood. This book is a culturally specific book, but it could be used to introduce the culture of one four year old girl. We could talk about favorite memories. We could do an art project that has to do with the students memories. Great for the

Show More

younger grade levels.

Show Less

You know, this is my least favorite read by Curtis and Cornell thus far...and I'm actually of two minds about it. On one hand, it's got all the trademark things we love about her books - wonderful illustrations that are zany, vivid and almost a story in-and-of themselves, and text that is both

Show More

silly and hits home with kids. I simply adore the idea of a four year old and her Memoir...that's such an unexpected thing, but it's charming and adorable at the same time! I think that this book is an excellent springboard for a larger lesson on memories; giving parents and/or teacher the opportunity to challenge their young readers (or listeners) to make their own memoir in a similar vein or leading to discussion about what the kids in a reading group/story time remember from when they were "still little."

On the other hand, it's got reference to junk food (by name even...Captain Crunch, Cheetoes, ect..) and it give the message that by age 4 they won't have to ride in a car seat which simply isn't true...here in Ohio, kids have to be 4'9" before they can be without a child safety seat, this is NOT a good message for kids to be getting. Overall, I give it four stars, as I said, it'd make a great spring board for additional activities in reading, writing, drawing and a fantastic place to go from for discussion about growing and changing with young children...but the "product placement" and child seat thing make me less than happy with this book as a parent. I suspect with a subtle correction about oh...how silly, you have to be X years old, or X tall or weight X amount, the car seat thing is easy to overcome and the product placement...well, if kids have already been given proper eating information and have a healthy diet at home, the knowledge that they CAN eat Captain Crunch or Cheetoes every now and then is probably not too terrible a message for kids to get.

Show Less

A four-year-old girl recalls the things that have changed since she was very little. When she was little, she ate goo, made up words, had silly hair, and had to ride in a car seat. Now, she can eat cheetos, make her hair pretty, and ride like a grown-up. This is a great book for very young children

Show More

to help them understand some of the changes they have gone through since they were very little. This also encourages a small child to use their imaginations and think of ways their lives are different now!

Show Less

This book is written about a bunch of things that the young girl did not know what to do when she was little, but as she grew she learned how to do the many different things. The theme would be that lessons come as a person grows.
I like this book because it shows how a child learns many different

Show More

things as the grow older and how the things she is learning may seem trivial and easy but they were big accomplishments to her. I would use this for a class to show them how many things they do know and how smart they have gotten since they were younger.
The book would be good for age groups from about 4 to 7 years of age.

Show Less

Summary: A little girl tells about all the things she does now that she couldn't do when she was little. At the end, she starts to contrast the things she still does.

Personal Reaction: The book can bring the students back to memory lane. They can see all the changes in their lives since they were

Show More

little. Also, it shows them that some things never change.

Classroom Extension:
1. Tell the students to compare and contrast the things they do now with the things they did when they were babies.
2. Instruct the students to bring a picture from when they were babies. Then, take a picture of them now. Put them in frames the kids can make.

Show Less

Summary:
This book is about a little girl who is four years old. She basically is comparing when she was a baby to her age now. She says what she did as a baby and what she could do now that she is four years old. Examples is that she didn't have hair as a baby and now she does. She didn't

Show More

understand time outs and now she does and doesn't like them. She compares to when she was a baby to now that she is four years.

Personal reaction:
This story is really cute for children it talks about a little girl and how she understands things more than when she was a baby. This story could help relate kids to the story cause it's about a little girl understanding things she didn't understand as a baby.

Classroom extensions:
1. Have each student bring in a baby picture of their selves. Then have them put their pictures on the wall and guess who is who.

2. The teachers will bring in her baby pictures to share with the class.

Show Less

Summary:
The title speaks for itself. It is a Four-year-old's memoir of her youth. The little girl would start each page with When I was little, ... but at the end she knew who she was.

Personal Reaction:
This book is one of my favorites for each of my girls said when I was little and do not even know

Show More

what it means. They have such an imagination and such cute and funny stories even if it is not true.

Classroom extension:
1. In the classroom, I would read this story to the whole class. For I believe each one can relate to this.
2. In addition, I would let the children expand by making their own story when I was little. Starting all about Me.

Show Less

This book was really cute! It was fun to read. I enjoyed how the little girl in the story 'changed' from a baby to a 4 year old and how she portrayed it. This would be a fun book to read to my students about how they've changed since they were babies and have them think how they might continue to

Show More

change. It was a great realistic fiction story.

Show Less

This book is an amazing book to read to young girls for many different reasons. The reason that I enjoyed it so much was because of the main character and the language. Throughout the book, the young girl reflected upon her past and she explained to herself and her audience about how she has

Show More

changed as she has grown older. The author of the story did a great job producing a well-developed, realistic, and believable character. Many things that the young girl did throughout her lifetime is relatable to young children. This is great for the readers of the book because they will be more motivated to read it since they feel they can relate to it. Moreover, I enjoyed the language of the story because it was appropriate to the age level. The words were simple, yet still evoking to young readers' minds. The story keeps children constantly thinking to themselves, "What did I do as a young girl that I don't do now?" The overall message of the book is that all children eventually grow out of old habits; however, this doesn't necessarily mean to forget about the past.

Show Less

I love this book because it's a sweet reminder of what it was like to be young. As a child, the illustrations were my favorite part. They are colorful and fun with small details that can only be appreciated after reading it multiple times. I like that the pictures are whimsical but still realistic.

Show More

The writing and language in the book is successful in portraying what a four-year-old would speak like. Therefore, the writing and language are simple but still convey a deeper message. The message of this book is that, even as young as four, children are people and have memories and are already starting to grow into experienced members of society.

Show Less

I think this is a good book for multiple reasons. One reason I like this book was for its consistent written pattern. On each page, the phrase would begin with "When I was little..." and on the second page it would begin with "But now...". I like this pattern because it is easy for young readers to

Show More

follow. I also found it very relatable to the age characteristic of the child. Another reason I like this book is based off of how it gets the reader to think about growing up. I feel this book does a good job with highlighting some of the silly things that change while growing up. For example the big slide, gets smaller. However, the author also includes some things that might not change just yet. For example, the young girl still gets tucked into bed and given a kiss goodnight. I feel the overall message for this story is that not everything will change no matter how much you grow up.

Show Less

This book is excellent for young children. They can relate to the little girl, and see how they had grown up also.

“When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth” is a realistic fiction following a little girl as she recalls how far she has come in life since she was a baby. Because this little person is no longer little, this means she was when she was a baby. When she was a baby she did baby

Show More

things like cry instead of use words and she didn’t even know she was a “girl” until her mom told her so. Because this person is now big, her hair is beautiful and can be worn in a multitude of styles and she is now a helper rather than a handful. She no longer sits in a “baby seat” and now goes to nursery school where she is able to share secrets with all her friends… This also means she now gets time-outs. When she was a baby, she made up words, but now she sings made up songs. Whenever she swims she now wears a full swimsuit but never floaties and slides on the slightly-smaller slide with grandma waiting at the bottom. This young lady also gets to eat grown-up food for dinner, brush her own teeth, and pretend to be a monkey in her big bed. However, she still kisses mom and dad good night, reads a book with them, and then plays tickle torture. “When I was little, I didn’t know who I was. Now I do!”

Show Less