From the author/illustrator pair behind All Are Welcome, All Are Neighbors, and Big Feelings—all joyous books about communities and connection—comes this story that follows the same group of families (including one with two moms) as they celebrate the memorable moments of their children’s lives from infancy onward.
Where will you go?
Who will you be?
I savor the moments
that you’re here with me.
As the text unfolds, the children play across the pages with their parents and each other, at home, at neighbors’, at community events, and more. We see a first bike ride, a first day of school, a stage performance—but also moments of overcoming everyday fears, of helping a friend, of splashing in the rain, of family reading time. The families and individuals are diverse in many ways, but also part of the same caring community.
“You’re my best adventure./You’re my wildest dream,” says the text, in the voice of all parents—but it then acknowledges that “The big world is waiting.” When it’s time to go, we read, no matter where the child goes or whatever they do, “I will always, always, ALWAYS love you.” The images here show us a (kindergarten? elementary school?) graduation of kids in mortarboards, in a spread that folds out as they toss the mortarboards high.
This is a picture book, and aimed at young children—but its warm and inclusive message about growth, letting go, and the ongoing nature of a parent’s love, along with the graduation imagery at the end, may make it a popular gift for older graduates as well (in the vein of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go).
In addition to the two-mom family that appears throughout, a two-dad couple is in one scene at the end. Additionally, one child with long blond hair wears a tuxedo on a couple of pages, and another wears rainbow socks (and appeared in All Are Neighbors with the same socks and a rainbow flag, implying a queer identity). I’m tagging the book “Gender creative girl” and “Nonbinary/genderqueer kid,” although their specific identities are not stated explicitly, since I want folks seeking such representation to be able to find this.
Another recommended addition to the series, with a potential audience far beyond the stated age range.
