We Are All Under One Wide Sky by Deborah Wiles & Andrea Stegmaier (Illustrator)

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released June 15, 2021 by Sounds True.

It's a good idea to preorder this one.

In rhyming poetry, this counting book begins with the title of the book. Each new page shows increasing numbers of things up to ten. Then the numbers decrease to one again. Under one wide sky is a repeated refrain. I am not always a fan of rhyming poetry in picture books. It is hard to do well. Happily, this one is brilliant. I liked it so well I read it out loud to myself a number of times. Of course I was appreciating the illustrations at the same time. 

Each time we come to Under one wide sky, we see a group of diverse children having fun together. 

The other pages feature children from around the world in their unique cultural backgrounds. Readers see distinct architecture, plants and animals in each of these vignettes. 

At the same time as readers are learning about counting and numbers, they are also learning an important message about being in the world with others. The combination of words and illustrations show that while we might have some differences, in the more important things, we are the same. We all have loving relationships with our families, nature, and the sky itself. The genius of this book is that it encourages us to acknowledge and celebrate all of these things. 

As you can see from these sample illustrations, Andrea Stegmaier's illustrations bring those messages home. I couldn't find anything about how she created these images, but I did find this about her process, "I draw a lot. I draw digital and traditional, straight lines and wonky lines, serious and funny things, animals and people, houses and plants, simply everything." 

If you aren't convinced yet that you that you need this book, let me tell you that the ending makes it also a lovely bedtime book. Little ones are certain to have sweet dreams after reading it.