All Are Welcome
By Carrie Kingsley,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Kind, uplifting story of inclusion and diversity at school.
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What's the Story?
ALL ARE WELCOME follows kids through their school day, activities, and homes while repeating the message that, no matter their race, family makeup, clothes, religion, or ability, everyone belongs. The kids arrive to school on foot, in a wheelchair, in a taxi, and eat foods from their diverse cultures for lunch. They do projects together, point to the map to show their family's origin, and play together on the playground. No one is left out, and everyone is valued.
Is It Any Good?
Diversity and inclusion are shown as beautifully, happily normal here, with simple, repeated words of inclusion and colorful, engaging illustrations. All Are Welcome shows kids encouraged to be who they are, and celebrates their differences. One of the most stunning displays of inclusion is the illustration of the playground, where kids wear hijabs, yarmulkes, shorts and baseball hat, skirts, and pants. Their hair is in pigtails, a patka (a cloth head covering worn especially by Sikh boys), long and short, and the Black hair is natural. There are children running around, a child in a wheelchair, blind and sighted kids laughing together, a group playing ball, and one kid happily reads a book by himself under a tree. Through other details, like the food at the lunch tables and the different kinds of families, the message that everyone is welcome and accepted as they are is warm and powerful here.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ways their community is like the one in All Are Welcome, and how it's different. What about these kids reminds you of you and your friends?
Does having diversity make a community better? Do you think having differences helps or hurts people?
Has there been a time when you haven't felt welcome at your school, or noticed that someone else might feel that way? What could you do to help someone fee welcome?
Book Details
- Author: Alexandra Penfold
- Illustrator: Suzanne Kaufman
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: July 10, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 44
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: June 30, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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