THE BOY WHO LOVED EVERYONE

Meet Dimitri, a boy whose love spills over to those around him.

Dimitri, a young, sensitive boy with beige skin and dark hair, loves the world around him—the tree in the park, his friends, his teacher, the book they read at storytime, an old man in the park, the guinea pig, even the paintbrushes. He can’t help but tell everyone and everything how he feels. Sadly, others don’t respond the way he expects, making jokes, moving away from him, even rebuking him. Dejected, Dimitri isn’t sure he likes school anymore and asks his mother if he may stay home. Rather than disagree with him or minimize his anxiety, his mother instead gets him ready for school and, on their walk through the park, points out how people show their feelings to one another in lots of different ways, not just by saying, “I love you.” Dimitri is reassured and ready for a new day at school, where a surprise awaits him. Economical yet descriptive text carries readers through this quiet and heartwarming story that models a journey in social-emotional development. Poignant, childlike illustrations, rendered in primary colors and featuring textured backgrounds, offer young readers plenty of details to pore over (especially a recurring ladybug motif). Moreover, thoughtfully drawn and vigorously diverse characters—children and adults—fill each bright spread with everyday diversity and clearly model care for one another through their interactions.

A book for sharing, learning, and loving—one another and ourselves.