All Are Welcome

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New York Times bestseller!

A warm, welcoming picture book that celebrates diversity and gives encouragement and support to all kids.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other's traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.--from the publisher

44 pages            978-0525579649            Ages 4-8

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Welcome to a classroom where diversity is not only normal, it's what makes this school so special. Starring children of all races and religions, wheelchair abled and not, childhood shines with its acceptance of everyone. Happiness simply glows off the pages as the students play their musical instruments and paint their pictures and hear the dinosaur story over on the storytime rug.

This is a celebration of what we can be together. Simply being children and gathering as families to celebrate the moon. So grab someone's hand and join in the circle. An outstanding book about the glories of accepting one and all.

Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com

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Regardless of where you come from, what you wear, how you get around, all children are welcome in this classroom and this book celebrates individual's diversity as well as inclusivity. This could, and should, be a snapshot of any classroom anywhere, as families of all types and origins connect to share their children's education. It clearly shows that however different the children's home lives are (and we get a glimpse of those in the illustrations) children everywhere love to do and learn about the same things.

Though the rhyming text might be a bit saccharin in some places (although other reviewers have called it "almost radical in our polarized time") there is much that the teacher librarian and classroom teacher can take from the illustrations particularly to acknowledge and the diverse heritages of our students. From creating a display of national flags and sharing the various words for hello, to having students create displays of their homelands to coincide with national days or having parents who are fluent in another language come in and tell stories in their language to other students, it all helps the student feel that they are indeed welcome here.

Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA

See more of her recommendations: 500 Hats https://500hats.edublogs.org/

The Bottom Shelf https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/

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Reviews:

"Penfold and Kaufman have outdone themselves in delivering a vital message in today's political climate."--Kirkus, Starred review

"A lively, timely picture book."--Booklist

“This is a must-read for pre-school and elementary classrooms everywhere. An important book that celebrates diversity and inclusion in a beautiful, age-appropriate way.” – Trudy Ludwig, author of The Invisible Boy and Quiet Please, Owen McPhee!

"A great read-aloud selection to start the year and revisit time and again." —School Library Journal

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