About the Holiday

Starting off with Read across America Day on March 2nd, the month celebrates reading, its joys, and benefits. When you read with your child or children every day you’re helping them develop the language and literacy skills that will promote future success in school and beyond. Even if your child isn’t talking yet, they’re listening and learning about their language as you read to them. Older kids also love being read to, and setting aside time to read together builds strong bonds that can last a lifetime. The month is officially marked with special events in schools, libraries, bookstores, and communities that bring authors, illustrators, and educators together with kids. 

I received a copy of World So Wide from Two Lions for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own. I’m happy to be teaming with Two Lions in a giveaway of the book. See details below.

World So Wide

Written by Alison McGhee | Illustrated by Kate Alizadeh

As a new mom and dad welcome their baby into the world, they marvel that somewhere in the world a child is the “youngest person alive” just “opening their eyes” to…what? To something outside or to “the love in someone’s eye?” Will the first thing they hear be tender words, the first touch a warm embrace?

Image copyright Kate Alizadeh, 2020, text copyright Alison McGhee, 2020. Courtesy of Two Lions.

Then with wonder these new parents address their own new baby—the youngest person in the world whose first sight was their smile. As their baby grows, they tell them there was “so much you wanted to say, / so much we wanted to hear, / so many firsts along the way.” And looking forward into their son’s bright future, they hope that one day the “newest person in the world / will open their eyes to see / a grown-up you smiling back at them.”

This mom and dad, their hearts bursting with love, tell their little one that when he has a baby of his own, he too will “hold that baby tight” and reveal to them a “life that’s bright and true” just as they will do for him—who is their new world.

Image copyright Kate Alizadeh, 2020, text copyright Alison McGhee, 2020. Courtesy of Two Lions.

Alison McGhee puts into words that heart-swelling awe new parents feel for their babies as they contemplate this new life in the world, all the firsts to come, and the journey they will share with their child into the future. Her lyrical story offers adults gentle assurances of unending love to share with their little ones. As the babies grow into toddlerhood and begin navigating the worlds of school and activities, the open-ended text invites adults and kids to engage in explorations of what they see, hear, feel, and think, creating a new experience with each reading.

Wispy, dreamy, and full of movement, Kate Alizadeh’s vibrant illustrations are moving snapshots of those moments that mean so much—gazing into a newborn’s eyes, cradling that tiny body in your arms, and watching as they become their own person. Lovely spreads of rolling fields dotted with wildflowers mirror the wider world while projections of the baby’s future see a young man with a child of his own living in the city and exploring the seaside.

A warm and gentle hug in a book, World So Wide would make a touching baby shower or new baby gift as well as a sweet addition to home libraries for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers to share their deep love for their child.

Ages Baby – 6

Two Lions, 2020 | ISBN 978-1542006330

About the Author

Alison McGhee is the author of many highly acclaimed works. Her children’s books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Someday, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds; the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award–winning Bink & Gollie, cowritten with Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Tony Fucile; and the Christopher Award–winning Firefly Hollow, illustrated by Christopher Denise. Her novels for adults include Pulitzer Prize nominee Shadow Baby and Never Coming Back. She lives in Minnesota, Vermont, and California. Learn more at www.alisonmcghee.com. You can connect with Alison on Instagram | Twitter

About the Illustrator

Kate Alizadeh is the author-illustrator of Quiet and the illustrator of That Is Actually MY Blanket, Baby! by Angie Morgan. Her distinctive hand lettering appears on the covers of Unboxed and Second Best Friend by Non Pratt, and her black-and-white illustrations are featured in Proud: Stories, Poetry and Art on the Theme of Pride, compiled by Juno Dawson. A graduate of Falmouth University, she is currently based in Northern Ireland. Learn more at www.katealizadeh.net. You can connect with Kate on Instagram | Twitter

You can find World So Wide at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound