All Around Us
“Even our bodies return to the earth...but that’s only half of the circle. That’s the part we cannot see.”
“All Around Us” by Xelena Gonzalez is a lovely book about the cycle of life and our interconnectedness between one another and with the earth. This story could be used to talk about life and death, gratitude for the beauty around us, and for showing the value of having relationships with our elders.
In the story, a young girl and her grandfather spend time together noticing circles (and connections) all around them. It starts with actual circles they can see and evolves into deeper thinking about the circles we don’t see, but still know are there. For example, just as life ends and we cannot see those people anymore, new life begins with babies and children who continue in their footsteps. The same can be seen when we garden and bury the dead leaves scraps and seeds to create healthy soil for new growth - a never-ending cycle of taking from and giving to the earth.
This story was written because the author remembered an assignment where she had to write a timeline of her life beginning with her birth marking milestones along the way. However, in her family (and many other families) life is a cycle and time is circular - not linear. We love how Gonzalez explained this concept through a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter. The grandfather is depicted as capable, lively, and worthy of his grandaughters time and interest. He is a person of value - a wonderful message about older people we would love to see more often in children’s books.
We think about the effect the pandemic has had on our relationships with the elders in our families. To protect them and show them we love and value them, we cannot be near them. It can be heartbreaking. This is changing the way many families remain connected as we learn to continue to share stories and news via Zoom and Facetime. Stories of grandchildren visiting grandparents separated by a glass front door, waving and sending air hugs and blowing kisses, is bittersweet, to say the least. In it, we see that we do truly value our loved ones and that those connections may look different, but they are very much still present.
Teachers
This book could be used to introduce math concepts for younger children when introducing actually circles. Circle scavenger hunts at home could easily be inspired by reading this book. For older students, you could assign a time cycle in lieu of a timeline of their lives. What do I mean by this? Ask about family members who came before them and include that in their story. For many children, who they are now is very much affected by who came before.
Some Things to Think About…
Discussion questions:
What do you know about death? What does your family do when a family member passes away?
Have you ever had a family pet die? How did that make you feel? What did your family do to honor your pet? What are your favorite memories of that pet?
Activity idea:
Make artwork using only circles. Paint them, trace them, glue bottle caps together. What kind of creation can you make only with circles?
Listen to the author talk about her name on this website:
illustrated by Adriana Garcia
