We All Love is a contemplative picture book that asks young readers to consider care as a shared responsibility across species, generations, and communities. Cree-Métis author/illustrator Julie Flett (Let's Go!; We All Play) frames this tender and expansive book with a dedication to all children ("It could not be more important for you to know to that you are loved") that grounds the book and immediately establishes its emotional center.
Flett integrates into her story gentle moments of direct address to animals ("Little friend, would you like a warm nest?"): an adult bear watches a cub dangling precariously from a tree, a duckling drifts too far out to sea until a fish nudges it back toward its waiting family, and a large turtle helps right a smaller one stranded on its back. These spreads emphasize attentiveness and action, and suggest that love often looks like noticing when someone needs help. A shift to human children follows, accompanied by the bilingual declaration "We love too! kisâkihiwânaw kîstanaw." Subsequent spreads focus on warmth, protection, and guidance: animals sheltering together, finding their way, and keeping one another safe. The closing pages widen the lens further, turning to flowers, stars, and the acknowledgment that the "stories inside us help us to grow." Flett's earth-toned palette, accented with soft violets, and her textured illustration style lend a quiet intimacy to nests, grasses, and furred heads. Closing notes list the animal names in both English and Cree, include a brief explanation of aspects of the Cree language, and share a final note with readers: "we are loved and... we all love." --Julie Danielson