Kathryn Erskine (Mama Africa) focuses her sweet sophomore picture book on kindness, bonding and acceptance. The delicate, calming art of Alexandra Boiger (She Persisted series illustrator) expands Erskine's sparse text into a universe of shared, though differing, experiences.
A girl on a tree swing (with a friendly fox peeking out from behind her) receives a balloon from a boy who hangs down from the tree. A girl with a long braid and hearing aids watches this exchange and then joins the two children (and the fox) as they chase the balloon down a hill. Other children are all around now--watching the ducks, bicycling in the background--and the whole crew gets together to blow up balloons and play hopscotch. Their imaginations take over and the balloons carry them off to sea, where the diverse group of children see "breathtaking sights" and hear "remarkable sounds." The children even pray together: "Some pray out loud, some close their eyes. Some look to earth, some to the skies." (The fox sits respectfully by.) Eventually, their imagined travels come to an end: "All kinds of kids, thoughtful and free. Sometimes in groups, sometimes.../ ...just me." (And a friendly fox, of course.)
Erskine's text is bright and hopeful and her rhyme scheme consistently scans. Boiger's mixed-media artwork is charming, her illustrated children emotive and joyous. Additionally, the diversity in the group isn't simply depicted through skin tone: one child has forearm braces, one wears a yarmulke and another a kufi, they are tall and short, large and small, all happy to be together. All of Us is a brilliant pairing of talents that shows the beauty in difference and the joy in connecting with others. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness