All Around Us

Reviewed by: Beverly Slapin

Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children
Book Author: Xelena Gonzalez

In this warm, gentle story that celebrates family, culture, community and the connectedness of all things, a young girl and her grandfather work side by side in their vegetable garden, hang out in their backyard, walk around their neighborhood—and find circles to see and contemplate. A rainbow, whose other half is down below the earth, “where water and light feed new life.” And stems, leaves, and seeds—veggie leftovers—“to bury back in the ground.” And round body parts, such as bellies and eyes, to laugh about. And bicycle wheels, and the sun and the moon, and gentle lessons about the cycles of birth and death. Continue reading.

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All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez
Published by Cinco Puntos Press on 2017
Genres: Family
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Grade K, Grades 1-2
ISBN: 9781941026762
Review Source: De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children

Publisher's synopsis: Grandpa says circles are all around us. He points to the rainbow that rises high in the sky after a thundercloud has come. "Can you see? That's only half of the circle. That rest of it is down below, in the earth." He and his granddaughter meditate on gardens and seeds, on circles seen and unseen, inside and outside us, on where our bodies come from and where they return to. They share and create family traditions in this stunning exploration of the cycles of life and nature. This is a debut picture book for Xelena Gonzalez and Adriana Garcia.