Are You Famous?: I Want to Be Just Like You!
A chance encounter with a fifth grader led education expert Virgie M. Binford to explore what children consider important in their role models. In the eyes of young people, she discovered, to be famous was to do something well and have people respect you for being a good citizen. Using that thesis, she challenged a group of charming young students from Woodville Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia, to describe people they respect and consider famous. The resulting mixture of words and drawings in "Are You Famous?" offers lessons for parents, teachers, and other adults on what children value and why. They also demonstrate what adults can do to inspire children to exclaim, "I want to be just like you!"