All the World [Hardcover]

Liz Garton Scanlon (Author), Marla Frazee (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 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
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Review

"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... Perfection." -- School Library Journal STARRED

"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. Frazee's warm, endearing vignettes...are a joyous counterpart to Scanlon's text. Together they create an empathic, welcoming whole." -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED

"Scanlon's text has a child-friendly simplicity reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown...All the World will win audiences with a sensibility both timeless and thoroughly modern." -- Horn Book Magazine, STARRED

"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." -- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED

"Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee capture the give-and-take between comfort and wonder in their exquisite new book All the World. ...Scanlon and Frazee pull it off with brilliant simplicity...Scanlon's verse and Frazee's illustrations play off one another like the music and lyrics of a great song. ... Don't miss this one." -- The Washington News Tribune

"... [a] shining, subtle craftsmanship that moves this title from merely enjoyable to genuinely inspired... In short, it's a moving and accessible celebration of the poetry of ordinary human life." -- The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

"All the World pulls off the most magical trick of picture books: To make a grand statement of mystery and wonder in the humble 36-page format of a few paintings and a handful of words." -- Newsday

"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....Against the backdrop of this almost ethereal text, Marla Frazee['s]...illustrations echo the rhythm of the verse, alternating between sweeping double-page panoramas and vignettes that mimic the motion of the words. Perfect." -- The Washington Post Book World

"There's a wonderful balanced imbalance between the sweeping largeness of the pictures and the spare script of perfectly chosen words." -- The Chicago Tribune

"All the small moments connect to a larger shared experience, Scanlon's (A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes) words and Frazee's pictures seem to say... Frazee lets out all the stops... Masterful." -- Shelf Awareness

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Beach Lane Books; First Edition Stated edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416985808
• ISBN-13: 978-1416985808
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 11.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Poetry
  • #21 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature
  • #24 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Values

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for pre-k and Kindergarten weather, gardening, and social studies units, September 22, 2009

By 

amazonbuyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: All the World (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

not to mention ART. The illustrations in this book are exceptional. There is so much to like about this book in how it speaks directly to a child's natural curiosity about the world and it's inhabitants.

1. The first section of the book deals with a child's connection to nature (seashore, garden, trees, gusting winds leading into summer showers) focusing on a brother and sister as they interact with the world around them.

2. The summer shower becomes the transition from the world of nature to the children's connection with the world of human beings as they enter into a intimate and cozy restaurant for supper. In this section the people we've been seeing in the background of previous illustrations become larger.

3. People of various cultures are seen eating and working together (in the restaurant kitchen) and then playing musical instruments in the home of the children who are the focal characters in the story.

There is so much about this book that catches a child's imagination and so many ways it can be used to enrich their understanding of the world around them. There is so much for a child to discover in the illustrations alone. One of my students pointed out the fact that whenever the two children headed to a new location the artist painted it in the distance.

Another wonderful aspect of the book is how it starts in the morning and ends at night time. We see the world and it's inhabitants transition from the activities and landscapes of the day to those associated with the evening.

I highly recommend this book to parents and teachers of young children & anyone who loves beautiful illustrations.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Illustrations, Comforting Message, Execution a Bit Forced, September 22, 2009

By 

Miss Darcy (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: All the World (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Plus: Some of the illustrations are stunning. They remind me of the work of Virginia Lee Burton (Mike Mulligan, etc.). They have that old-fashioned, soothing pastel feel. The message is comforting as well: the whole "we are one with the universe" theme plays throughout. Also, they have made the family multiracial. The mom is white and the father is (my guess) African-American; the kids are multiracial. This makes it a better choice for libraries than some of the classics.

Minus: the reading level is listed here as 9 to 12. But really, this is a read-aloud book for younger children (kindergarten and below). Some pages only have a few words. Older children would probably enjoy it also, for the message and beautiful pictures---but once would likely be enough. Also, because of the layout, some of the pictures that go with the words don't appear until you turn the page. That means new readers won't be able to use the pictures to help decode the words.

Conclusion:
Originally I gave this three stars, but I came back and bumped it to four after reading it aloud to my daughter (age six). It was worth the cozy moment (although she hasn't asked to read it since, and she reads at the fourth-grade level). It would be a nice book to read with a grandchild. It is definitely a READ ALOUD book---something I'd probably choose from the library vs. a purchase, and not something I'd expect a child to choose to read on his or her own.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: ALL THE WORLD, September 16, 2009

By 

Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the World (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I've been reading ALL THE WORLD aloud, over and over, and over, while gazing at the illustrations, and getting more and more excited about its interplay of melodic text and stunning illustrations in which people young and old, are working and playing in harmony with the Earth and each other. Throughout the book they are connected to the birds, the bees, the rocks, the flowers, the sky, and the sea...

"Rock, stone, pebble, sand
Body, shoulder, arm, hand
A moat to dig, a shell to keep
All the world is wide and deep."

There are nine easy-to-recite-aloud stanzas to the poem that comprises the text of ALL THE WORLD. The poetry and images lead us through an idyllic day of surf and sandcastles; community-based agriculture; tree-climbing and bike-riding; and an incoming, late-afternoon downpour that sends everyone scuttling to the shelter of a cafe nestled among big trees. A post-storm quiet dusk becomes the prelude to a joyful evening when all the book's multigenerational characters gather for an impromptu acoustic jam. Everyone -- young and old -- is connected; everyone is part of the whole. Then, the hugs and pajamas.

Immersing us in a palette of blues, greens, tans, and browns that make my heart sing, illustrator Marla Frazee moves us effortlessly back and forth from the close-up intimacy of the characters connecting with one another, to expansive, double-page spreads that reveal the characters as being like little pebbles amidst the breathtaking beauty of our big and beautiful planet.

Which brings us back to the cover which show a big brother and little sister with their backs to us, gazing out to endless sea and sky from their vantage point upon a flower-covered seaside rise. They look so happy and relaxed, maybe just watching the swells and the seagulls, or maybe meditating upon the glory and immensity of the planet to which they are connected...

Please excuse me now. I have an urgent need to traverse the coastal hills and connect with them in time for tonight's summer seaside jam session...