Small Places, Close to Home: A Child's Declaration of Rights: Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

by Deborah Hopkinson, Kate Gardiner (Illustrator)

Overview

The rights of children—and of all living things—begin in small places, close to home.

This is a poetic and moving adaptation of U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary.

In backyards and city parks, in school and at home—wherever and however we move through this world, we have certain inalienable rights—and it’s up to each one of us to ensure those rights for others, too.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by Eleanor Roosevelt and signed on December 10, 1948, marked the first time that countries agreed on a comprehensive statement of inalienable human rights. This gorgeous adaptation for children reminds us that universal rights begin in small places, close to home.

We all deserve to live free,

to feel safe,

to belong,

to learn,

to dream.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063092587
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	731,754
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Deborah Hopkinson is the author of Small Places, Close to Home and Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen, among more than fifty acclaimed works for young readers including picture books, middle-grade fiction, and nonfiction that help bring history and research alive. Deborah lives near Portland, Oregon with her family and a menagerie of pets. You can visit her online at www.deborahhopkinson.com.

Kate Gardiner is a New England based illustrator. She is a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck Indians and a graduate of Maine College of Art & Design. Kate has illustrated several books including her debut picture book, Small Places, Close to Home by Deborah Hopkinson, and Sometimes we Fall by Randall de Sève. She can be found online at kategardinerillustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Starting with a loving image of a biracial family, this intimate book connects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the life of the individual child. The author and illustrator have worked together to make young readers aware of the declaration and to ensure that they understand their important role—as inhabitants of their own “small places, close to home,” in Roosevelt’s words—as members of local communities, countries, and the world vital to the realization of the Declaration’s purpose. Quietly powerful." — Kirkus Reviews

"Taking its title from Eleanor Roosevelt's 1958 remarks delivered at the United Nations about the 1948 Universal Declaration of Humans Rights she had helped champion, this book informs young children of their own rights and responsibilities as humans. Gardiner's gouache and pencil illustrations have a soft color palette, with pops of yellow and tomato red and demonstrate human rights playing out across a variety of communities. This elegantly and accessibly presented book empowers the youngest humans and their accompanying grownups to recognize their rights and safeguard them by extending them equally to others."  — The Horn Book

"Inspired by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this lyrical text tells children that they too are included in the human family. Debut illustrator Gardiner uses a muted palette with a flat gouache look and a variety of interesting perspectives well-suited to the material. The wide variety of skin and hair colors, styles of dress, foods, and houses feel truly international. A strong purchase for classroom use that will work well as a read-aloud or the basis for an elementary civics lesson." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2023

Gr 1–5—Inspired by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this lyrical text tells children that they too are included in the human family. Sentences are broken up into brief lines that suggest a poetic reading: "I deserve to live in freedom/ in a just and peaceful place/ and be treated equally and fairly/ no matter what I look like/ how I speak/ dress, or wear my hair/ who I love/ or where I live." Especially effective are the "And it's up to me" phrases that emphasize every person's responsibility to ensure that others' rights are respected, too. The concept-heavy text, with information about how the original declaration came to be written by a seasoned author, will work well as a teaching tool in older elementary classrooms; a link to the United Nations website at the end will encourage further exploration. Plus, pictures of families picking apples, eating , walking through parks, and shopping for food together will pull younger elementary readers in. Debut illustrator Gardiner uses a muted palette with a flat gouache look and a variety of interesting perspectives well-suited to the material; the artwork is contemporary and gently folk-reminiscent. The wide variety of skin and hair colors, styles of dress, foods, and houses feel truly international. VERDICT A strong purchase for classroom use that will work well as a read-aloud or the basis for an elementary civics lesson.—Hillary Perelyubskiy

School Library Journal

2023-07-13
Starting with a loving image of a biracial family, this intimate book connects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the life of the individual child.

The document, with its drafting committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, then U.S. delegate to the United Nations, was formally signed in December 1948. The author and illustrator have worked together to make young readers aware of the declaration and to ensure that they understand their important role—as inhabitants of their own “small places, close to home,” in Roosevelt’s words—as members of local communities, countries, and the world vital to the realization of the Declaration’s purpose. Organized into short sections, from “Me” to “My School and Community” to “My Country and World,” the book introduces children to human rights such as education and equality and then urges them to take responsibility: “It’s up to me to stand up for the rights of others who need protection.” The muted, understated illustrations, in pencil and gouache assembled digitally, portray diverse people; a world map depicts people from all around the globe. Most useful when read in group settings, this quietly powerful book will promote discussions about important topics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Weighty ideals translated into an accessible format for young readers. (information about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Eleanor Roosevelt, further resources) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews