We Belong

I’ve seen many ques­tions on social media, ask­ing which books teach­ers will read aloud to their class­room dur­ing the first week of school. I don’t teach in a class­room but I’ve thought about this ques­tion any­way. The book that rose to the top of my list is this one, We Belong. It’s a bril­liant book, both in writ­ing and in illus­tra­tion, every word select­ed with care, every bit of art inclu­sive and reassuring.

We Belong brings up our dif­fer­ences and gen­tly helps us real­ize they don’t matter. 

Maybe you’re tall as a big red­wood tree.
When your kite becomes stuck, you just pluck it free! …

Maybe you’re short.
Down low to the ground. …

Does it mat­ter?
And why?
We’re each only as high
as a small grain of sand
next to moun­tains or sky.

This book is good at per­spec­tive, both in words and art. Mak­ing com­par­isons, offer­ing alter­na­tive ways to look at peo­ple and our sur­round­ings, giv­ing the read­er or lis­ten­er wide open spaces to con­sid­er and choose a path.