About the Holiday
Today’s holiday is all about celebrating the children and grandchildren in our lives and what makes each one truly unique. When you watch your own children or those in your care grow and develop their own personalities, talents, and dreams, you realize that each one is an individual with a bright future ahead of them. Today, honor each child’s exceptional character! Ask your children what they want from life, what their opinions are, and what is important to them. Then incorporate some of those things into your daily life. Take the opportunity also to encourage your children, support them, and—most of all—tell them how much you love them every day.
You Belong Here
Written by M.H. Clark | Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
“The stars belong in the deep night sky / and the moon belongs there too, / and the winds belong in each place they blow by / and I belong here with you.” This beautiful opening verse embraces readers and carries them on a journey to the sea, where whales and fish, waves and the shore, dunes and grasses all live in harmony the way they are meant to. In the forest, trees, animals, and birds have their own places, and, likewise, a child is reassured that “you belong where you love to be” and that at home they will always find the companionship of someone who loves them.
Copyright Isabelle Aresenault, 2016, text copyright M.H. Clark, 2016. Courtesy of Compendium.
Just as frogs and turtles, otters and carp find homes in lakes, ponds, and streams where the water is right for them, and hares, foxes, and lizards belong on their own bits of land, “the crickets belong in the old stone wall / and the bees belong in the clover.” And what about the child snuggling in loving arms? “You are a dream that the world once dreamt / and now you are part of its song. / That’s why you are here, in the place where you’re meant, / for this is right where you belong.”
Copyright Isabelle Aresenault, 2016, text copyright M.H. Clark, 2016. Courtesy of Compendium.
So, the pine trees and bears and each creature of the air, land, and sea “is perfectly home right there / in the place where it belongs to be.” And the child can know that wherever they go and whatever they choose to see, “I will always belong right here with you, / and you’ll always belong with me.”
Copyright Isabelle Aresenault, 2016, text copyright M.H. Clark, 2016. Courtesy of Compendium.
M.H. Clark’s lyrical love letter to a child is a warm hug that clasps the little listener close to the adult reader’s heart. Clark’s gorgeous examples of perfect pairings in nature encompass not only animals that children will be familiar with but also the flowers and trees, rocks and caves, waterways and weather that are also woven into the formation and patterns of life, giving the story a feeling of the cyclical and constant that echoes love itself. The rhythm of the story floats like a dreamy lullaby, making this a wonderful book to share at bedtime for even the youngest children. It’s message is one that all children can appreciate no matter how old they are.
Isabelle Arsenault accompanies each verse with striking, softly hued illustrations that place whales, deer, otters, foxes, and all the other animals and their young in their particular environment. Her gorgeously blended images enhance the reader’s appreciation for the perfection of nature’s construction and reinforces the assurance that each child and adult belong together now and always. Interspersing the natural settings are views of various types of homes from city apartments to small towns to a secluded home in the woods. A whimsical spread in which a child’s hand can be seen placing wooden puzzle pieces of a hare, whale, bear, carp, and turtle into their appropriate slot adds another layer of understanding for young children and may cause them to think about their own place of belonging when playing on their own.
A touching gift for Valentine’s Day, baby showers, new babies, new siblings, and any child, You Belong Here belongs on every child’s home bookshelf as well as in classroom and public libraries.
Ages Birth and up
Compendium, 2016 | ISBN 978-1938298998
To learn more about Isabelle Arsenault, her books, and her art, visit her website
Celebration of Life Day Activity
Spool Photo Holder
With this easy craft you can make a personalized photo holder for a child’s room that holds pictures of family and friends to show children who they “belong with.”
Supplies
- Wooden spool with hole through the middle, top to bottom. (A spool without a hole also works if you make a hole in the top with a hammer and nail), 1½ -inch or larger, available at craft stores
- Colorful twine or light-gauge yarn, 3 to 4 yards
- Alternatively: you can buy a wooden spool of colorful twine at some craft and discount stores
- 3 pieces of light-gauge wire 12 to 15-inches long
- Clay or play dough
- Needle-nose pliers
- Glue
Directions
- Fill hole in spool with clay or play dough, pushing it well in to provide a base for the wire
- Wrap the twine or yarn around the spool to desired thickness
- Glue down the end of the twine to keep it from unraveling
- With the needle-nose pliers, roll down one end of the wire to create a small coil
- Repeat with two other lengths of wire
- Cut the three wires to different lengths to provide room for all three photographs
- Fit the three wires into the center hole on the top of the spool
- Push the wires into the clay until they are held securely
- Clip photographs into the coils
- Display your pictures!
You can find You Belong Here at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 