Everybody! by Elise Gravel

When discussing picture books it is important to understand that while the best examples of this form do, of course, contain text and pictures the real magic comes from the way these two are combined - especially when the illustrations take the reader way beyond the text. In the best books the relationship between text and illustrations is a symbiotic one. The illustrations depend on the text and the text is enriched by the illustrations.  

In Everybody the text when viewed in isolation does contain deep ideas expressed in a simple way:

"Everybody is unique and different. But we are more similar than we think. Everybody has fears. Everybody has moments of joy and moments of sadness. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody can learn from them."

But when you open this book each page is filled with humour and pathos. 

The book serves to reassure children they are not alone and that what they might be experiencing is widely shared by others or rather, EVERYBODY. As well, an important element of Everybody!, while not overt, is reinforcing in children the need to respect others. From the opening page to the end, the book is uplifting, cheerful, and encouraging, but the subject matter has a serious intent. Canadian Review of Materials

Who is everybody? Elise Gravel gives her readers a huge range of the every bodies. Different sizes, shapes, colours and personalities. You can see some of them on the front cover above and in this illustration: 

Image Source: Scholastic Canada 

I dare you to share the book trailer for Everybody with your library group - it is very funny (and slightly rude). One of my favourite pages is when we see one of the characters reading a book (on the toilet) and then we discover it's a real book also by Elise Gravel:

The two covers above are the editions available here in Australia (top) and the US edition. 

 I do hope you are familiar with the unique and brilliant work of Canadian illustrator Elise Gravel. I highly recommend adding some of her books to your library or home book collection and you could also look for books by Elise Gravel in your local library. Read more about Elise here. 

Here is my post about The Worm

This is a new book due out later this year

These are some Board Books by Elise Gravel