All Around Us

Author: Xelena González

Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor, Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
American Indian Youth Literature Award, American Library Association (ALA)
International Latino Book Award, Latino Literacy Now
Skipping Stones Honor Award, Skipping Stones Magazine
Notable Children's Book, Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

This gorgeous picture book -- winner of the Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor and American Indian Youth Literature Award Picture Book Honor -- celebrates the circles that surround us, in the sky, the earth, our neighborhoods, ourselves ... if we just dare to look for them.

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 mind-bending, heart-opening book marked the impressive debut of Xelena González and Adriana M. Garcia as picture-book creators.

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Published: 10/17/2017
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.60h x 8.70w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781941026762
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 2.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 196417 / All Around Us

Award: Pura Belpre Award - Honor Book

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2017 pg. 42
Publishers Weekly 08/21/2017
Booklist 11/15/2017 pg. 48
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2018 pg. 43 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Xelena González has roots in San Antonio, Texas, but has stretched her wings to fly all the way to Guangzhou, China, where she works as a librarian in an international school. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and library science at Texas Woman's University, but her true training as a storyteller has come from getting to know other living beings--including plants, animals, and people who happen to speak different languages or see the world in unusual ways. She tells these stories through picture books, essays, song, and dance. All Around Us is her first book.

Adriana M. Garcia creates as a way to document lives and to honor the human existence, aiming to extract the inherent liminality of a moment before action as a way to articulate our stories. She is proficient both in traditional painting as well as web-based new-media applications. For this particular project, Adriana and her collaborator have challenged each other to answer complex questions about culture, humanity, and unique worldviews in a way that is simple, universal, and appealing enough to reach the youngest members of our society. All Around Us is her first book illustration project.