7 pages from inside this book
Together We Grow
- Subject
- Social Themes - Values & Virtues
- Age
- 3-5 years
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 40
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
- Size
- 25.6 cm × 25.9 cm
- ISBN
- 9781534405868
Four starred reviews!
From award-winning novelist Susan Vaught comes an “emotionally charged and eloquently rendered” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book that celebrates inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of rebuilding a community in the wake of disaster.
Lightning gash!
Windy lash!
A storm drives all the farm animals indoors except for a lonely fox family. The barn isn’t their home. But where will they go for safety?
This stunning picture book explores themes of acceptance and belonging:
Large or small,
Short and tall,
There is room,
There is room,
There is room
For us all.
From award-winning novelist Susan Vaught comes an “emotionally charged and eloquently rendered” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book that celebrates inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of rebuilding a community in the wake of disaster.
Lightning gash!
Windy lash!
A storm drives all the farm animals indoors except for a lonely fox family. The barn isn’t their home. But where will they go for safety?
This stunning picture book explores themes of acceptance and belonging:
Large or small,
Short and tall,
There is room,
There is room,
There is room
For us all.
About the creators
Susan VaughtAuthor
Susan Vaught is the two-time Edgar Award–winning author of Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy and Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse. Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry received three starred reviews, and Super Max and the Mystery of Thornwood’s Revenge was called “an excellent addition to middle grade shelves” by School Library Journal. Her debut picture book, Together We Grow, received four starred reviews and was called a “picture book worth owning and cherishing” by Kirkus Reviews. She works as a neuropsychologist at a state psychiatric facility and lives on a farm with her wife and son in rural western Kentucky. Learn more at SusanVaught.com.
Kelly MurphyIllustrator
Kelly Murphy is a New York Times bestselling author-illustrator and recipient of the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award. She teaches illustration at her alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design. Kelly currently lives in her native New England, surrounded by the flora and fauna featured in Together We Grow. She is also the illustrator of Together We Build. Find out more at KelMurphy.com.
Data provided by BiblioShare.
$25.99In stock at our supplier — delivered within 5–9 days.
What reviewers said
In times of need, uneasy alliances align. Enemies become partners, if only for a little while.This sweet picture book, told in rhyming couplets, pairs Vaught's lean, soothing text with Murphy's exquisite illustrations. Vaught is a practicing neuropsychologist and a lover of animals. Both traits play well in this tale that imagines a dark and stormy night in which its barnyard beasts must decide whether to shelter outsiders. A family of foxes is caught out in the storm, and the mother is desperate to protect her kits's. Understandably, the farm animals, normally prey for the fox, are not eager…
With a thunderstorm threatening, the animals on the farm seek shelter in the barn. The darkening sky, heavy rain, and lashing wind are contrasted with the warm, yellow light spilling from the barn, which promises a haven from the elements. The building fills with the usual sheep, horses, pigs, and chickens, as well as a raccoon, squirrel, turtle, and skunk seeking respite from the torrential rain. When a mother fox comes looking for a dry spot for herself and her kits, though, the others tell her, “Go away! We’re full today!” It takes one of the smallest critters in the barn to show empathy…
"A truly inspiring picture book that will resonate with both children and adults."
"Inviting dialogue about the need for inclusivity, Vaught (Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry) offers a lyrical narrative in concise rhyming couplets that are fleshed out in dramatic mixed-media illustrations by Murphy (The Slowest Book Ever)."
VAUGHT, Susan. Together We Grow. illus. by Kelly Murphy. 40p. S. & S./Paula Wiseman Bks. May 2020. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781534405868.
PreS-Gr 1– A severe rainstorm lures a series of different animals, big and small, together for shelter in a barn. The fox family is initially shunned, as all the animals yell: “Go away! We’re full today!” A lone duck, however, is brave and compassionate enough to approach them, demonstrating that to “learn and show together we grow” is the best approach. Ultimately, with acceptance, teamwork, and sharing during a catastrophe, “there is room for all.” Vaught’s spare, meticulous rhyming text perfectly complements Murphy’s eye-catching illustrations, which begin with a striking blue sky severed…
