Andrew Bast
All the World, [Scanlon's] second book, weaves a sumptuous and openhearted poem of 18 couplets over 38 pages, all revolving around the title's singsong refrain. The verses take readers from an unexplored beach to a busy music-filled family room and into a tranquil, moonlit night. Beautifully illustrated by Marla Frazee, who won a Caldecott Honor this year for A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, it's the kind of book that will be pulled off the shelf at bedtime over and over again.
—The New York Times
Kristi Jemtegaard
To children, "all the world" is who they know, what they see and where they are. Liz Garton's gentle daylight-to-moonrise text reflects and respects this child-centric version of the universe even as it lulls young listeners with rhythms as gentle as waves…The illustrations echo the rhythm of the verse, alternating between sweeping double-page panoramas and vignettes that mimic the motion of the words.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Tackling a topic no smaller than the world itself, Scanlon (A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes) and Frazee (A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever) invite children to explore a variety of its settings, starting with a beach where a young interracial family plays: “A moat to dig, a shell to keep/ All the world is wide and deep.” Tucked into a corner of the scene is a farmer's market, which becomes the focus of a subsequent spread (“Tomato blossom, fruit so red/ All the world's a garden bed”). This clever linking of Frazee's blithesome watercolor and pencil-streaked illustrations echoes the book's larger goal: to show the world's connectivity. The lively verse is consistently reassuring, even as life's stumbling blocks get their moment (“Slip, trip, stumble, fall/ Tip the bucket, spill it all/ Better luck another day/ All the world goes round this way”). Frazee's warm, endearing vignettes—a mother studying with her baby, grandparents embracing in their bathrobes—are a joyous counterpart to Scanlon's text. Together they create an empathic, welcoming whole. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)
Kirkus Reviews
In flowing rhyme, Scanlon zooms outwards from smallness to bigness: "Rock, stone, pebble, sand / Body, shoulder, arm, hand / A moat to dig, / a shell to keep / All the world is wide and deep." Watercolor-and-line illustrations show several beach close-ups of siblings playing before pulling back to reveal the seashore and cove. Next: "Hive, bee, wings, hum / Husk, cob, corn, / yum! / Tomato blossom, fruit so red / All the world's a garden bed." Close-up on people tending bees and plants, then a broad double-page spread of farmstands and fields. Frazee connects all scenes with black pencil lines of shading, texture and motion. Her gift at drawing postures graces every page as multicolored families climb trees, get drenched by rain, seek a lit cafe at twilight and play in a musical jam session. An occasional grumpy child and wailing baby prevents idealization, but it's hard to imagine a cozier and more spacious world. At once a lullaby and an invigorating love song to nature, families and interconnectedness. (Picture book. 2-5)
From the Publisher
"Charming illustrations and lyrical rhyming couplets speak volumes in celebration of the world and humankind, combining to create a lovely book that will be appreciated by a wide audience... Perfection." — School Library Journal STARRED
"Tackling a topic no smaller than the world itself, Scanlon (A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes) and Frazee (A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever) invite children to explore a variety of its settings, starting with a beach where a young interracial family plays. Frazee's warm, endearing vignettes...are a joyous counterpart to Scanlon's text. Together they create an empathic, welcoming whole." — Publishers Weekly, STARRED
"Scanlon's text has a child-friendly simplicity reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown...All the World will win audiences with a sensibility both timeless and thoroughly modern." — Horn Book Magazine, STARRED
"It's hard to imagine a cozier and more spacious world. At once a lullaby and an invigorating love song to nature, families and interconnectedness." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED
"Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee capture the give-and-take between comfort and wonder in their exquisite new book All the World. ...Scanlon and Frazee pull it off with brilliant simplicity...Scanlon's verse and Frazee's illustrations play off one another like the music and lyrics of a great song. ... Don't miss this one." — The Washington News Tribune
"... [a] shining, subtle craftsmanship that moves this title from merely enjoyable to genuinely inspired... In short, it's a moving and accessible celebration of the poetry of ordinary human life." — The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
"All the World pulls off the most magical trick of picture books: To make a grand statement of mystery and wonder in the humble 36-page format of a few paintings and a handful of words." — Newsday
"Liz Garton's gentle daylight-to-moonrise text reflects and respects this child-centric version of the universe even as it lulls young listeners with rhythms as gentle as waves....Against the backdrop of this almost ethereal text, Marla Frazee['s]...illustrations echo the rhythm of the verse, alternating between sweeping double-page panoramas and vignettes that mimic the motion of the words. Perfect." — The Washington Post Book World
"There's a wonderful balanced imbalance between the sweeping largeness of the pictures and the spare script of perfectly chosen words." — The Chicago Tribune
"All the small moments connect to a larger shared experience, Scanlon's (A Sock Is a Pocket for Your Toes) words and Frazee's pictures seem to say... Frazee lets out all the stops... Masterful." — Shelf Awareness
School Library Journal
07/01/2015
Baby/Toddler—Scanlon's beautiful, award-winning ode to a child's universe is a picture book classic in the making. This shrunken-down board book includes the poetic text in its entirety and Frazee's appealing spot art and stunning spreads. The simple joys and wonder of childhood are tenderly captured as well as the inevitable challenges. "Slip, trip, stumble, fall/Tip the bucket, spill it all/Better luck another day/All the world/goes round this way." A perfect, portable bit of family life to take along on any journey, easily tucked into a backpack or diaper bag.
SEPTEMBER 2011 - AudioFile
Stop, look, and marvel at the world around you! This is author Scanlon’s invitation and illustrator Frazee’s gift to listeners. The book celebrates simple things—a stone, a shell, a hive, the sun—and uses them to inspire an awareness of the world and the peace, trust, and love that envelop us all. Joanne Woodward narrates gently, allowing listeners to pore over Marla Frazee’s award-winning illustrations. Woodward shares her excitement for certain ideas, such as the pleasure of a garden, with subtle emphasis and elongates phrases that require deeper appreciation. Jaunty background music modulates in volume and tempo in keeping with Woodward’s pace. An interview with Marla Frazee completes the production. A.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
