This book is simply lovely. It's called We Are One, and it's written by Ysaye Barnwell, a member of the a capella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, and illustrated by Brian Pinkney. (That was a very informative sentence with all the links, huh?) The copy of the book that we borrowed from the library came with a CD recording of the song, and the toddler has been requesting that we listen to it approximately 347 times a day. It's an amazingly harmonious rendition of the book as song, and it definitely gets stuck in your head, replaying over and over all day long. (I'm just saying.) The text of the book is short, but the words are powerful, and it's difficult for me to read this book aloud without feeling my emotions swell up. But the great thing is that it's accessible by even the youngest audiences of preschoolers, as my 2-year-old's love can attest to. If that doesn't make you want to look up this book, let me rave a bit about the illustrations. They absolutely work perfectly to expand on the text, bringing the words alive. They're just so gently beautiful, I can't be nearly articulate enough to explain why I adore them. Hopefully these words will fall on some receptive ears out there, and the next time you're at your handy dandy public library you'll be motivated to find it on the shelf!
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