{"id":38552,"date":"2024-03-27T22:04:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T02:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38552"},"modified":"2024-03-27T22:04:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T02:04:58","slug":"review-of-all-because-you-matter-by-tami-charles-illustrated-by-bryan-collier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38552","title":{"rendered":"Review of All Because You Matter, by Tami Charles, illustrated by Bryan Collier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>All Because You Matter<\/em><\/p>\n

by Tami Charles
\nillustrated by Bryan Collier<\/p>\n

Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2020. 36 pages.
\nReview written 10\/20\/2020 from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This picture book is a message book, but it\u2019s written in a way that transcends the message, with poetry and lovely paintings\/collages telling children that they matter.<\/p>\n

The specific child shown in the illustrations is a black boy, and this book will work best for black boys, but that sure seems fair. And you can use this book to remember the value inherent in all young people \u2013 while enjoying the poetry and the stunning illustrations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a book for reading to your own beloved child. Here\u2019s how it begins:<\/p>\n

They say that matter
\nis all things
\nthat make up the universe:
\nenergy,
\nstars,
\nspace . . .<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s the case,
\nthen you, dear child, matter.<\/p>\n

Long before you took
\nyour place in this world,
\nyou were dreamed of,
\nlike a knapsack
\nfull of wishes,
\ncarried on the backs
\nof your ancestors
\nas they created
\nempires,
\npyramids,
\nlegacies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book talks about when you get older and get to school and start wondering if you matter. This part is as dark as it gets:<\/p>\n

Or the time when your Pop Pop
\nturns on the news,
\nand you see people everywhere
\ntake a breath,
\ntake a stand,
\ntake a knee.<\/p>\n

And you hear Pop Pop\u2019s
\nwhispered prayers,
\nas another name is called:
\nTrayvon,
\nTamir,
\nPhilando,
\nand you wonder
\nif they,
\nor you,
\nwill ever matter.<\/p>\n

But did you know
\nthat you do?<\/p>\n

Did you know that
\nyou were born from
\nqueens,
\nchiefs,
\nlegends?<\/p>\n

Did you know that
\nyou are the earth?
\nThat strength, power, and
\nbeauty lie within you?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that takes the book to the finish with more affirmations and celebrations that you and your family always mattered and always will.<\/p>\n

Again, all of this is accompanied by lavishly beautiful illustrations. There are author\u2019s and illustrator\u2019s notes making it personal. <\/p>\n

I read another picture book with a similar message shortly before reading this one. I chose not to review that earlier book, because it had a good message, but the book wasn\u2019t much more than the message. This book has reached a level of art in both the illustrations and the poetry. And it tells a particular story that can be universally applied. But it is particular to those who most need to hear it in today\u2019s times. And that\u2019s a lovely breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n

scholastic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

What did you think of this book?<\/p>\n

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I\u2019m posting the oldest reviews I\u2019ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They\u2019re still good books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All Because You Matter by Tami Charles illustrated by Bryan Collier Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2020. 36 pages. Review written 10\/20\/2020 from a library book Starred Review This picture book is a message book, but it\u2019s written in a way that transcends the message, with poetry and lovely paintings\/collages telling children that they matter. The specific […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,15,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contemporary","category-picture-book-review","category-starred-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38552"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43523,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38552\/revisions\/43523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}