Who do you see when you look at me? Most notice my wheelchair, my voice, or my crazy hair. I am me, just me, doing my best to live each day to the fullest I can. There is more to me than you might realize. I have gifts and talents that make me unique. There are also things I do just like you-things we have in common that you might not even know. When we take the time to learn about each other, something grand happens-love and understanding. Open your mind, your soul, your heart, and you will see the real me...when you look at me.

What Do You See When You Look at Me... shares the love between a mother and her child as it is brilliantly illuminated in this short story. The adoration and passion that is felt from the mother speaks in volumes. She is awestruck with the amount of love that captures her thoughts and overwhelms her emotions. The mother holds onto hope that her sweet baby will remember these precious times as they snuggle close to one another.

Children all over the world dream to do, and to be, great things. Unfortunately, many things often block those dreams: social and economic realities; cultural and racial bias, etc. In school, parents may feel pressured to steer their children toward academic achievement while ignoring the child’s heart-cry to play, to create, to imagine and to dream. As a parent myself, I have noted my own tendencies to encourage academic success over heart-centered creativity. Most parents, teachers and child-care workers are balancing multiple demands and just trying to survive the daily grind! So, I offer this book as an encouragement to LISTEN closely to every child’s dream. Give their imagination attention. Perhaps, YOU will be the person who helps to make their dream into reality.

This book is about a child imagination with the clouds. It is a beautiful day and as she lie under the big oat tree and look up to the sky her imagination with the clouds was life forming. The sky is light blue and the puffy white clouds seems to take on the life of all the characters as she looked on that is in the story. Each character is formed from the puffy white cloud on top of the blue sky.

Whether or not we recognize it, or wish to, each of us is initially judged on how we are perceived. These initial perceptions are almost always based upon physical attributes, past experiences, or simply developed over time. This story is meant to show just how superficial this type of thinking is and send a message of hope, creativity, and above all, acceptance. We are all different, and yet have many things in common. Hopefully, this will resonate not only with children but all individuals, no matter their age. Each of us needs to instill this ideal and understand that we are all unique and embrace who we are.

Look around you. Take a good look. What do you see? Is your community full of beauty and wonder? You Look at Me. I Look at You follows a young girl as she explores her community, where she finds many wonderful and beautiful things to appreciate....

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.