All Because You Matter

Picture book, 40 pages. Love letter to black, brown and all marginalized children. Published by Orchard Books in 2020. Listed on 9 national Best Books List for 2020.

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Recap & Review

Parents long to read a lullaby to their child celebrating her birth, welcoming her to the world, encouraging her growth. And each generation has a particular title which resonates beyond the individual family.

All Because You Matter is today's lullaby, thrumming with hope, acceptance, and love.

Collier's illustrations stunningly tell the story with a flower blossoming motif in each background representing the historical and present-day family and community telling the child, "He matters."

Learning Suggestions

Family Read Aloud Time
Read this one over and over when your children are young and revisit it as they grow.

Learning at Home & Classroom Options
I rarely recommend the same resource for homeschoolers and classroom teachers, but this one is superb. The Discussion Guide for this title at Scholastic's On Our Mind blog gives younger children an age appropriate access point to the discussions of race and racism. There are quite a few resources for parents and teachers who want to learn more themselves.

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Tami Charles

Charles transitioned from a teacher to children's book author and has been winning awards and honors from her debut novel, Like Vanessa, published in 2019. Since then Charles has published 14 titles for young adults and children.

Bryan Collier

It took seven years for Collier's first book, Uptown, to find a publisher. But the book won both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award. Since that time Collier's books have earned another five Coretta Scott King Awards.

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