All Around Us
Written by Xelena González
Narrated by Xelena González
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Grandpa says circles are all around us. He points to the rainbow that rises high in the sky after a thundercloud has come. Can you see? That's only half of the circle. That rest of it is down below, in the earth.
He and his granddaughter meditate on gardens and seeds, on circles seen and unseen, inside and outside us, on where our bodies come from and where they return to. They share and create family traditions in this stunning video adaptation of the Pura Belpre award-winning exploration of the cycles of life and nature.
Xelena González
Xelena González has roots in San Antonio, Texas, but has stretched her wings to fly all the way to Guangzhou, China, where she works as a librarian in an international school. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and library science at Texas Woman’s University, but her true training as a storyteller has come from getting to know other living beingsincluding plants, animals, and people who happen to speak different languages or see the world in unusual ways. She tells these stories through picture books, essays, song, and dance. All Around Us was her first book.
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Reviews for All Around Us
35 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A young girl learns about the circular nature of all life in this lovely picture-book from first time author/illustrator team Xelena González and Adriana M. Garcia. Through her time with her grandfather, who talks about the circles all around them - the rainbow in the sky, their use of the earth for gardening, the cycles of life and death in their own family, the cultivation of the apple tree planted when she was born - the girl gains a better understanding of the world around her, and of her place in it...A member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, González won
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this book -- from the striking illustrations, to the theme of the cycle of life and death, to the lovely relationship between grandaughter and grandfather. Beautiful in pacing, in quiet but thoughtful scope, and a good, healthy introduction to the idea of birth and loss. Just lovely.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5PICTURE BOOKXelena González, illustrated by Adriana M. GarciaAll Around UsCinco Puntos PressHardcover, 978-1-9410-2676-2, (also available as an e-book), 288 pgs., $16.95October 17, 2017“Do you see, my grandchild? We have new life with you.”On the most basic level, you could say All Around Us is a children’s book about shapes. “Grandpa says circles are all around us. We just have to look for them.” A young girl and her grandfather take a walk and identify circles: the sun, a clock, bicycle wheels. On a whole other level, All Around Us is still about circles, but these are the circles of life. “Here is another circle,” [Grandpa] says as they tend their vegetable garden. “What we take from the earth, we return.” These circles are thunderstorms and rainbows, planting and harvesting, birth and death. As above, so below.All Around Us is the first picture book from Xelena González and Adriana M. Garcia. González is a journalist and librarian; Garcia is an award-winning artist and scenic designer. The women are childhood friends, born and raised on the Westside of San Antonio. All Around Us, benefiting from a grant by the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, celebrates relationships with a sense of infectious joy.González and Garcia are inspired by their memories and regular visits (with tacos) to their childhood homes. González’s prose is inspiring, but sweet and simple for the recommended ages of three to seven (preschool through second grade). Garcia’s illustrations are striking, uniquely beautiful. The neighborhood is recognizably San Antonio; the laughter in the eyes of grandfather and granddaughter is palpable. All Around Us is all about connections, graced by ethereal images—the perfect children’s book for this season of celebrating endings and new beginnings.Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.