All the World

With simple, rhyming text, that flows well, and keeps the reader's attention; and delightful pencil and watercolor illustrations that perfectly capture the fun of a day at the beach, or the warmth of a family evening around the piano - one can almost taste the salty sea air, hear the music filling the room - Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee's All the World would make a wonderful storybook for reading aloud!

"Rock, stone, pebble, sand / Body, shoulder; arm, hand / A moat to dig, / a shell to keep / All the world is wide and deep" it begins, following a diverse family - the mother is European-American, the father (possibly) African-American - as they go from seaside to farm market, from supper at a cozy cafe, to a musical gathering at show more home. Another family (possibly Latino?), with grandfather and three young children, explore a massive tree: "Tree, trunk, branch, crown / Climbing up and sitting down / Morning sun becomes noon-blue / All the world is old and new."

I liked the visual and narrative ambiguity of the this picture book, with two diverse families that could be related, or could just be friends. Or maybe "just" being friends is being related, as "All the world is all of us?" I also really liked that the diversity is taken for granted, that it is never explicitly commented upon, or made issue of in the narrative. Finally, I can see why this was named one of the top ten "Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009" by The New York Times, and also why it was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book. The artwork is simply gorgeous - so free and joyful, so completely alive! All the World is definitely a title that deserves all the accolades it has won! show less

This book is hard to describe as strikes me as a meditation and a prayer and a hope for communicating the beauty of the world to a child. I love it! The world is wide, amazing, beautiful, full of love (without sounding like the song “Imagine'“). The accompanying illustrations really capture the sense of hope and peace. This would be such a beautiful part of a bedtime routine.

This is my favorite picture book! The world that is created within the illustrations of this book is phenomenal. Each time we read this to our daughters we find new connections between the characters and find new details in the community that is presented. The poem is simple and profound, especially when placed in the context of the people living in this little village. We have memorized it over and again, and love the people we meet in its pages like they are old friends. Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee have teamed up to make a true gem of a book!

Magical. In a nutshell.

From the moment I opened the amazing promotional box through the minutes spent with the exquisite All the World, to the video describing Simon & Schuster's new imprint, Beach Lane Books, each second had a magical quality that makes those of us who love children’s books swoon. Though it won’t be published until September, I just couldn’t wait to tell readers about this fantastic book.

All the World follows the simple day of a family. The four begin at the beach, wander in their cool red pickup truck to a farmer’s market, stop at a park where rain ruins the fun, enjoy dinner in a cozy restaurant and end the day at their grandparents with a slew of extended family.

Simple. Not so much.

Mixed within that show more simplicity is a message of the beauty in the everyday. A message to take note, to look around and relish in the glow of a good dinner, the love of community, the arms of a grandparent, the fun of playing with your cousin. The softly brush-stroked artwork of illustrator Marla Frazee is stunning. It flows from page to page with the same hidden depth as the story, especially beautiful in multicultural and multigenerational interpretation.

Wake up Caldecott committee! All the World needs to be on your short list.

This is perhaps my favorite picture book published in the last few years (knocking Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed right off it’s pedestal). Great picture books subscribe to the Sendak school of thought, “...that there's something living underneath it... When you hide another story in a story, that’s the story I am telling the children” (source: Rosenbach Museum Video). All the World, with its subtle message to enjoy the beauty in the everyday and magnificently complementary illustrations, hits the beach ball squarely in Sendak’s court.

Recommended for all elementary classroom & library purchases as well as for art and language arts instructors in all grade levels. No higher recommendation will come from this reading educator.


Please see my complete review on: Reading Rumpus, a children's literature & reading education website. show less

When I first started seeing reviews for this, I was thinking, Marla Frazee, what have you DONE? Kids don't like inspirational goop, it's just for the parents. We need picture books with solid PLOTS! I've already been suckered into buying All in a Day (hey, it was Cynthia Rylant! My director wanted it! It's boooooring!)

So I x'ed this off my order list. But....it is Marla Frazee, so I thought I'd better borrow it and take a look.

Oh, Marla Frazee how could I ever have doubted you! You picked a lovely writer to illustrate and a story I can proudly hand out to parents and kids. The simple text marches through a day from a visit to the beach, farmer's market, playing by the lake, storm, dinner at a family restaurant, family evening at home, show more and bed. The text has a peaceful chant, perfect for bedtime stories or family repetition on a long drive.

And, of course, Marla Frazee perfectly complements the text, putting together the simple words into a story and capturing every aspect of the world in the glowing colors of the earth and sky.

Verdict: Utterly satisfying, highly recommended

ISBN: 978-1416985808; Published September 2009 by Beach Lane Books; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less

I actually prefer this Caldecott Honor to the winner of its year, The Lion and the Mouse. It's original, contemporary, and important, as our world gets more and more crowded with people who don't understand that we are all one global community and each of our choices affects multitudes of others. Would that we all lived as these people do, in harmony, with courage.

And besides, it's poetic, appealing, engaging, full of fun & funny details. I hope you all get a chance to read it!

Btw, I have enjoyed everything Frazee's worked on so far, and will continue to watch for more works by her.

A beautifully illustrated, rhyming poetry books that helps young readers learn to discover the many aspects of the earth and the people in it. This text does a wonderful job of helping children connect descriptions of objects and activities to certain events and landscapes.

I love how this book illustrates that differences can be beautiful and not everything needs to be the same to be good. This book can be used as a wonderful introduction to help children see the world from multiple perspectives, but also see that each of these perspectives are interesting and important. The rhyming words of the book help create an easy pattern for children to follow, and grow their vocabulary in a fun way. This book is a must in early elementary show more classrooms and libraries and can be incorporated in literacy instruction from many angles - in science, diversity, similarities, adjectives, and adverbs, etc. show less