In his first children's book, Ramos explores the many ways in which all children are just like their parents-in English and Spanish! Readers will be delighted to find this title is really a combination of two books when they flip the picture book around.  One side describes a son's perspective ("I'm just like my dad"), the other the daughter's (I'm just like my mom") making this the perfect pick for boys and girls alike.   

 

Questions for Jorge Ramos*:

 

1. What was the inspiration behind "I'm Just Like My Mom/I'm Just Like My Dad"?  
 My son Nicolas was the inspiration. I had promised him to write a book about him and this is it. I knew that he was going to be the most difficult critic. But he already read it and gave his approval. He did find himself in the book and many members of the family.
But the idea for this book came about after the death of my father 13 years ago. Back then I had an interview with the Chilean writer Isabel Allende. And she gave my the best advice I have ever received. She told me that the people we really love never die because we repeat them in our movements and attitudes, and we carry them in our faces, in our body and in our behavior. After a while, I started noticing that I did many of the things that my father used to do, from drinking chocolate milk at night to the very strange practice of trying to catch flies with our bare hands. Now, almost every month I discover in me things, conducts and attitudes that defined my father. Therefore, I'm never alone.
When my son asks," Who do I look like?" I have a book for him. 
 
 2. How can parents encourage their children to celebrate and embrace their Latino roots?  
 It was very important to publish this book in English and Spanish. Actually, it's a bilingual book that can be read in four different ways: from left to right is for boys and from right to left is for girls. Like it or not, many parts of the United States are already bilingual. Bilingual is better. This is the only country that I know in which there are people who think that to speak one language is better than two or three.
This country gave the opportunities that my country of origin, Mexico, couldn't give. And I am very very grateful. But I don't want to lose my Latino roots. We speak Spanish at home, we visit Mexico at least once a year, we communicate constantly with my family and my children are very proud of their heritage. Not only that, by being bilingual they'll have more opportunities in the future than children who only speak English. 
  
3. Tell me about the book club you created in 2002. 
People used to say that Latinos didn't read and that, if they do, they do not read in Spanish. Well, they were wrong. And we proved that in the first Book Clun on Spanish-language television that we created at Univision in 2002. It was called Wake Up Reading. And I'm glad to report that we woke up millions of people. Now, it would come as no surprise that many Spanish-language books sell much better that their English-language counterparts. Why? simple. The United States is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, with the exception of Mexico. 
 
4. I know you play soccer with your children, does all your family cheer for the same soccer club? 
 It's our Saturday routine. The only difference is that, a few years ago, Nicolas would come to the field to see me. Now, I go to the field to see him play. It's just fair, isn't it?
  
About Jorge Ramos:
Jorge Ramos has been the anchorman for Noticiero Univision since 1986. He has received many prestigious honors including eight Emmy Awards and a spot on Time magazine's list of "25 Most Influential Hispanics." Ramos is the author of eight books for adults. This is his first children's book.

* This is an excerpt from an article written by Aurora Anaya-Cerda; published in Latin Baby Book Blog on August 1, 2008.  http://latinbabybookclub.blogspot.com/