Carin Berger | The Children’s Book Review
Will I fit in? Do I have a place? Will I make friends? Will I be okay?
I have been thinking a lot about childhood and the back-to-school season, because, in a matter of days, my daughter will be packing her bags and traveling across the country to start her school year at a college in California. The thing is, this specific moment doesn’t feel that much different to me than the very first day of kindergarten so long ago. As I watch her prepare for the new year, full of hope and excitement, uncertainty and worry, I recognize the emotional stew she is experiencing and I see both the loveliness and difficulty of this point in time.
Childhood is full of transitions and that is what gives it beauty. But change often brings uncertainty. The questions that often flood us are, perhaps, more pronounced at the start of the new school year: Will I fit in? Do I have a place? Will I make friends? Will I be okay? And yet these universal worries are not exclusive to back-to-school. Today, in our country, we are living in uniquely discordant and fraught times. Just like adults, kids are deeply affected by the divisive issues that are roiling our country, such as race, gender, poverty, and inequality. And, of course, they also struggle with feelings of loneliness, sadness and loss. So how do we help our kids navigate these feelings? How do we reassure them as they enter new situations? And, really, since we all have these feelings, how do we reassure all of us?
These were the issues that I was wrestling with when I wrote my newest book, All of Us. I wanted to both broadly acknowledge the challenges that we all face, and offer, as an antidote, a positive message celebrating the power of hope, community and love. I wanted to reassure kids and their families that we, as a community, are here, as steady as stone, loving them, welcoming them, accepting them for exactly who they are. I wanted to reinforce the idea that in times of uncertainty and crisis, we are strongest when we all stand together. I hope as we enter another school year that we can welcome all of our children by making sure that they know that each one of them is needed, respected, and loved – that there is an important place in our communities for all of us.
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All of Us
Written and Illustrated by Carin Berger
Publisher’s Synopsis: Acclaimed and award-winning picture book creator Carin Berger shares a moving story of community, empathy, and the power of love.
With a universal message and stunning paper collage art, this striking book is just right for fans of Matt de la Peña’s Love and Emily Winfield Martin’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be.
Award-winning illustrator Carin Berger’s beautiful and timely picture book celebrates the power of community, family, and most of all, love. Her beautiful collage art and lyrical text offer a message of hope in the face of adversity.
All of Us is ideal for family sharing as well as year-round giving and is for fans of Nancy’s Tillman’s Wherever You Are and Alison McGhee’s Someday.
Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Greenwillow Books | May 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-0062694133
Available Here
3 Comments
My 6 year old grandson lives in Boston and his school has many kids with English as a Second Language. He would enjoy this book and would share it with his newborn brother. When my kids were growing up, their elementary school had kids from all over the world. There was an ESL teacher to help them bridge the transition to learning English. We had International Night and hand up a flag for each classroom’s country. The food,art, music, dancing and crafts were an experience. The kids had “Passports” where they got a stamp for every country where they stopped. Sharing cultures of other countries was a heartwarming event.
International night sounds amazing!
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