WE ARE TOGETHER

Rhyming advice for readers extols the values of teamwork and diversity as die-cut shapes reveal an increasing number of children.

Two brown-skinned children stand on a hill, surrounded by a kite-filled sky on which the opening stanza declares, “together, we’re a team.” One child is printed directly on verso; the other is visible through a die-cut keyhole punched through it and the nine leaves beneath. Teckentrup’s characteristic textured blocks of color make this composition feel layered, and the following spreads have even more depth and complexity; the real stunner shows a flock of birds in an autumn sky. Birds and trees are frequent motifs in this assortment of pastoral landscapes, paired with platitudes such as, “If we all sing together / one voice becomes a choir.” Populated with a growing group of children standing to face readers and revealed through subsequent die cuts, these scenes are artful rather than realistic; both polar bears and penguins frolic on the same iceberg in one winter tableau. Finally, a circle of 18 children, each framed by a cutout, gives way to a standard double-page spread of “one big, happy crowd.” Here, still heedless of the fourth wall, are dozens of children in celebratory poses with skin tones ranging from peach to deep brown—and three of them have visible disabilities, counting the one with glasses.

A nifty presentation of the well-worn but evergreen message of human connectedness.