When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth by Jamie Lee Curtis ~ 1993


~  Here's a little girl's simple, childlike celebration of herself as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty height of four and a half years  ~


Author: Jamie Lee Curtis
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (September 30, 1993)
Publication: September 30, 1993
First Board Book edition: 1999
Pages: 32
Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0060210788
ISBN-13: 978-0060210786
Language: English
Illustrator: Laura Cornell
Author photographer: Laurel Chaney


This book was loaned to me from The Henderson Memorial Public Library for use in my Lady Jessica's classroom project.



3 Stars



Annie, Jamie, Thomas
Last Sunday at our library, as I was waiting for my co-volunteer to help with getting Issue 2 noticed in our community, Lori who'd checked my loans out days previous asked if I had liked the memoir.

"Memoir?" "What memoir Lor? I don't read memoirs."

She smiled and said, "You know Jeff, the little memoir." My memory clicked, ah yes the memoir ~

To my audience:
No, I am not delving in children book reviews.  Thought I'd put my two cents in on this book for Lori.

Right off the bat, the title kills me. So cute. An encouraging read for youngster's looking at where you have been and where you are now.

Since I don't review children books, for me,  the sentencing I thought was for children a bit younger than four. The story itself was a bit choppy, but, fun and engaging. The theme of compare and contrast was abundant and enjoyed how the little sister was depicted on each page as whom Annie once was as a child. Good story for self-confidence and accomplishment.

The illustrations were clever in showing 'big-girl-things' next to 'little-girl-things'. As the story unfolds, it shows Annie telling us things she used to do when she was a baby with her baby sister doing just that. The pages reflected pride with brushing her own hair and brushing her own teeth to realizing she was a handful when she was younger to being helpful now since she's bigger.

Accomplishing some things all on your own now, looking at kindergarten shouldn't be all that frightening.  Right?  -  WHAT!!
Well, kindergarten does have its own issues. Thinking of the night before and the first day.

Start them early
Well, lemme tell ya Lori, this little 32 page book of reflections I do have a couple of issues I will mention. My blog does not constitute any reason(s) for conflicts of interest - yet ...

No car seat for a four year old? Mmm. Yep, got an issue.

Ms. Curtis brings up (twice) your sex. She establishes the difference between boys and girls in the beginning of her story. Though, I guess that wasn't enough when you're four and you have to wear a bathing suit to the pool. Completely understandable. For me, it was her banging my head against a wall making sure I knew there is a difference between boys and girls.

Redundancy is a must when it comes to children books. A vehicle of learning, say, brushing your teeth, sharing, or even saying thank you. With this story, the sexual orientation redundancy I felt was not needed.

And c'mon! Reviewers, your issues with Captain Crunch and Cheeto's? - Ms. Curtis did not in any way say those are the dietary means for a child. If you had read that page, you will notice there are also wholesome foods she mentions. Made me think you never snacked on Cheeto's when you were a child yourself? Please.


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Recommendation? Yes. An encouraging book to read to your child.


Here's where you can get your fingers on When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth:
  •  Amazon ~ Hardcover $15.91 ~ Paperback $6.97 ~ Audible $1.95 ~ Board book $7.99 USD


About the author ~

Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is the author of eight best-selling children's books that address core childhood subjects and life lessons in a playful, accessible way. Jamie finds the inspiration for her writing all around her - in the experiences of her children, her godchildren, her friends - and of course in her own life.

Her first book, When I Was Little, was sparked by her then-four-year-old daughter's boast that she was no longer "little." Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, a celebration of adoption and the start of a new family, was inspired by the adoption of her own children. And as an author, of course Jamie loves big words and knows that words have power.Her latest book, Big Words for Little People, gives young children the knowledge and power of their own "big words."
Laura Cornell


All of Jamie's best-selling picture books are illustrated by Laura Cornell: Big Words for Little People; Is There Really A Human Race?; It's Hard To Be Five: Learning How To Work My Control Panel; I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off A Little Self Esteem; Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery; Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day; Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born; and When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth.

Jamie is also well known as a film actress, with starring roles in such acclaimed films as Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Freaky Friday, True Lies, Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda. Jamie is the mother of Annie and Thomas and is married to actor/director Christopher Guest. They live in California.


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