Filled it a need in my heart, right now...

This is a gorgeous hands-on book. There is vellum between the pages. You read a page to your right and turn the vellum to read the page to your left. The vellum has detail on it which is part of the picture to the right and cojoins the picture to the left when you turn it. The artist, Beatrice Alemagna, lives in Paris, France and is from Bologna, Italy. You can feel the beauty of Europe when you are reading this book!
She dedicates this book "to the one who thinks that everything falls apart".
The ending of the book states that there is one thing that never goes away. Expressed by a picture of a hug, it is simply referring to LOVE. This actually made me cry. (I am so overtired from the COVID crisis.) Beautiful sentiment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Cleansing

 

I cried my eyes out on Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend and it really did help me to get back on track. The words from the afterword are on target: "Learning to be with ourselves as we experience feelings--understanding how to weather our inner storms--is an invaluable practice, one we can learn and teach our families." Crying is like the rain--refreshing and a re-set. What a good lesson for ALL of us.

Keep our oceans & waterways clean

 This book has gorgeous, inviting illustrations that make you fall in love with Sydney and his generous, helpful heart. *The lesson is clear...humanity's reliance on disposable items is a bad idea for all of nature. :( Included are facts about seals and ideas about how to take better care of the earth. Some small simple changes in our lifestyles can make a world of difference! I like that we learn that our behaviors can have implications that we do not necessarily see or think about. This is a good thing to think about, even as a child!

Sweetness

 

This gorgeous book emphasizes that everyone matters, no matter how small and no matter how different! A library promotional campaign created a poster and bookmarks using the artwork in the book as the theme. Perfect!

A celebration of lap-sit!

I loved how this book showed the joy of sharing a book by sitting on a loved one's lap. It reminded me of a cool catchphrase from a few years back..."There is no app to replace your lap."

A strong picture book about white privilege

A white child's growing awareness of problems of racism (around her) is central to this book. I love that white activist librarian Juliette Hampton Morgan is featured in the book. Also, that the author/illustrator explains that she has been making books by hand her whole life to cope...and that we (the readers) can, too. Finally, I like that listening to Toni Morrison compelled Anastasia to create this book.

The world is colorful!

This is a gorgeous book that introduces the reader to Holi, Day of the Dead, and Chinese New Year. Cultures and places are noted. The message is that colors are significant to all cultures and we personally identify with certain colors. Very nice!