The Whole Wide World and Me by Toni Yuly

You know that feeling you get when you're at the beach, where you're simultaneously small in the face of that endless ocean, and also big, simply because you are there on that beach meeting that ocean and looking it in the eye?

This book, THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AND ME by Toni Yuly, brought to us by Candlewick, is about that feeling. It's about the connectedness we feel with nature, and how no matter who we are, we are a part of something bigger.

So, really, for me, it's a picture book about spirituality. It employs simple text and big, bright art -- I started to say "simple" art, but really, is any art simple? I think the quality I'm responding to is the lack of busy-ness, the absence of anything unnecessary. Maybe "clean" art? Which again might mean something entirely different to someone else... hmmm... not sure how to describe it, except to say: I LOVE IT. What a beautiful way to engage readers with the joy of recognizing our part of this big beautiful world.

I want to read this book to everyone I love, and then go take a nature walk. :) I hope you will, too! (By the way, Kirkus agrees with me!)