ALL YOU NEED

Short stanzas from scholar Schwartz are brought to life with illustrations from award-winning artist Hu.

Schwartz’s free verse highlights the simple, essential needs we all have, among them shelter, sun, food, water, and clean air. Amplifying this message of our shared connection is a secondary story conveyed through the illustrations. Drawing inspiration from her childhood in China, Hu uses watercolor washes, warm tones contrasting with calming blues that create a cozy, dreamlike feel, to tell the story of a young child growing up and later emigrating to pursue their art. For a book that is otherwise so inclusive, highlighting Asian heritage and the immigrant experience, it is disappointing that the closing stanza includes among the list of needs “a hand to write”—a phrase that potentially excludes children with limb differences as well as cultures that have no written language. Nevertheless, the inviting illustrations and the overall message of interconnection between nature and humanity save the day. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A simple poem paired with stunning watercolors tells a story of unity.