All the World

I saw the cover of this book and immediately fell in love. Not only is it titled, "All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon, but the cover art, created by one of my favorite children's book illustrators Marla Frazee, was absolutely captivating. LOVE!

In an article I found, Marla Frazee stated, "Illustrating a book titled 'All the World' was a daunting proposition. I mean, it’s supposed to be about all the world. I was totally overwhelmed. Then I considered the times when I’ve felt the most connected to the world at large, and remembered that none of us ever inhabit all the world but merely our own small place in it. So I focused on one of the places I love the most—the central coast of California—and set the book there. Many of the illustrations in All the World are inspired by grace notes in my life. The grandfather under the oak tree is an homage to my own immigrant grandfather, who had enough patience and faith in the future to grow oaks from acorns—trees he knew he would never live to see taller than himself...I drew my zippy orange 2007 Honda Fit, and my faithful dog, Rocket, in its front seat, pulling out of the farmer’s market. The tulips, the Mediterranean architecture, the pink house, the purple-and-yellow sunset, the beach ball—all of it means stuff to me. I hope that readers will find many things in All the World that mean stuff to them, too. I love Liz’s text because it celebrates the small things, the big things, children, and grown-ups in equal measure. And I love how it is all mixed up and jumbled together and interconnected and personal and universal." I couldn't describe this book any better then that.

I gave the Alluem Kids this opportunity for a brief visualization after reading this book. Sitting tall, eyes closed, we thought about all the places we have been in this world. (Recently I've noticed how some of my students are more travelled then myself! Good for them!) These places could be local - in our own backyards, or global - foreign countries we may have vacationed to. Then we thought of which place in the whole world made us FEEL the best. We asked ourselves questions - why did it make us feel so good? What did it look like? What did it smell like? Sound like? Feel like? Who were we with? What were we doing? Capturing the image in our minds again, I asked them kids to sit in stillness with that image and those feelings. Knowing they could access this image at anytime - whether it is a time they are upset, sad, angry, or just want to relax and feel good. Before losing that image, I asked the kids to gently open their eyes and capture this image onto their sketch paper...I witnessed some of the most beautiful images appear on their papers - beaches, forests, parks, Disney World, Paris, Grandma's House, and...yes, I'm being biased - my favorite...Alluem Yoga:

For more incredible ways to use this book in your classroom, visit: http://www.lizgartonscanlon.com/PDFS/All%20The%20World%20TG.pdf