All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, Marla Frazee (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

All the world is here.

It is there.

It is everywhere.

All the world is right where you are.

Now.

Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky

The Washington Post - Kristi Jemtegaard

To children, "all the world" is who they know, what they see and where they are. Liz Garton's gentle daylight-to-moonrise text reflects and respects this child-centric version of the universe even as it lulls young listeners with rhythms as gentle as waves…The illustrations echo the rhythm of the verse, alternating between sweeping double-page panoramas and vignettes that mimic the motion of the words.

The New York Times - Andrew Bast

All the World, [Scanlon's] second book, weaves a sumptuous and openhearted poem of 18 couplets over 38 pages, all revolving around the title's singsong refrain. The verses take readers from an unexplored beach to a busy music-filled family room and into a tranquil, moonlit night. Beautifully illustrated by Marla Frazee, who won a Caldecott Honor this year for A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, it's the kind of book that will be pulled off the shelf at bedtime over and over again.

Publishers Weekly

Tackling a topic no smaller than the world itself, Scanlon (A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes) and Frazee (A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever) invite children to explore a variety of its settings, starting with a beach where a young interracial family plays: “A moat to dig, a shell to keep/ All the world is wide and deep.” Tucked into a corner of the scene is a farmer's market, which becomes the focus of a subsequent spread (“Tomato blossom, fruit so red/ All the world's a garden bed”). This clever linking of Frazee's blithesome watercolor and pencil-streaked illustrations echoes the book's larger goal: to show the world's connectivity. The lively verse is consistently reassuring, even as life's stumbling blocks get their moment (“Slip, trip, stumble, fall/ Tip the bucket, spill it all/ Better luck another day/ All the world goes round this way”). Frazee's warm, endearing vignettes—a mother studying with her baby, grandparents embracing in their bathrobes—are a joyous counterpart to Scanlon's text. Together they create an empathic, welcoming whole. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Children's Literature

A series of rhymed couplets in hand-lettered text flow across the wide double pages as we follow a young family through a day of discovering that "All the world is wide and deep." They dig in the sandy shore, choose a tree to plant at a farmers' market, sightsee, and are caught in a thunderstorm. They dry off and have dinner in a restaurant, then return home as the sun sets. Family members gather for a musical get-together and mutual enjoyment. The message of pleasure in the world around us is clearly stated: "All the world is everything. Everything is you and me. Hope and peace and love and trust/ All the world is all of us." The few words are caption-like, only pointing out objects or actions. Black Prisma color pencil and watercolors create attractive, sensitive illustrations. Some scenes are detailed, as in the farmers' market with stalls, pots of flowers, and families socializing. The vertical downpour is striking as we peer through the watery curtain at a deserted pond and empty landscape with a single beach ball to make the human connection. This strong, contented, happy, hopeful message is delivered both visually and verbally. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2—Charming illustrations and lyrical rhyming couplets speak volumes in celebration of the world and humankind, combining to create a lovely book that will be appreciated by a wide audience. The pictures, made with black Prismacolor pencil and watercolors, primarily follow a multicultural family from a summer morning on the beach through a busy day and night. A boy, his younger sister, and their parents experience a farmer's market, a lakeside pavilion, a soaking rain, a warm meal in a cozy café, a gathering of musical kin, and a quiet night at home. The hand-lettered text in dark gray is large and mobile as it moves readers along through the captivating vignettes. Other families are also depicted, and readers can follow many of their activities as they overlap and connect with the main characters. The folks in this small, diverse community experience what a summer day has to offer, including sun, wind, storm, and a sense of contentment and well-being. A double-page moon- and starlit illustration shows an overview of all the featured locales highlighted in this small slice of the world. Perfection.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Kirkus Reviews

In flowing rhyme, Scanlon zooms outwards from smallness to bigness: "Rock, stone, pebble, sand / Body, shoulder, arm, hand / A moat to dig, / a shell to keep / All the world is wide and deep." Watercolor-and-line illustrations show several beach close-ups of siblings playing before pulling back to reveal the seashore and cove. Next: "Hive, bee, wings, hum / Husk, cob, corn, / yum! / Tomato blossom, fruit so red / All the world's a garden bed." Close-up on people tending bees and plants, then a broad double-page spread of farmstands and fields. Frazee connects all scenes with black pencil lines of shading, texture and motion. Her gift at drawing postures graces every page as multicolored families climb trees, get drenched by rain, seek a lit cafe at twilight and play in a musical jam session. An occasional grumpy child and wailing baby prevents idealization, but it's hard to imagine a cozier and more spacious world. At once a lullaby and an invigorating love song to nature, families and interconnectedness. (Picture book. 2-5)

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