For Every Child
Title: For Every Child
Author: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Text adapted by Caroline Castle
Illustrator(s): 14 acclaimed artists including two American award-winners: Jerry Pinkney and Rachel Isadora.
Publisher: UNICEF in association with Phyllis Fogelman Books
ISBN#:0-8037-2650-3
Audience: Ages 3 and up
Summary: Fourteen of the Fifty Four principles adopted in November 1989 by the United Nations as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are here stated, explained and illustrated in a way that is accessible to children. The forward, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, urges readers to think of the new millennium as a time of a new beginning, an opportunity to commit to loving and protecting all God’s children.
Literary elements at work in Story: Each of the fourteen principles is accompanied by a double-page illustration by a world acclaimed artist and so provides a diverse array of visual styles. Children will enjoy studying each illustration and connecting the words of the principle to the children depicted in each illustration.
How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?: The book is intentional about referring to children of all races, religions, cultures. It is also intentional about including children who are mentally or physically disabled.
Theological conversation partners: God created the world and all the children in it. Yet some of the children don’t have safe, clean, happy places to live nor do they have families to love them because we are helping to take care of all the world’s children. This book invites readers to think about what all children in the world need despite differences between them in culture, geography, race, or religion. All children need to be protected, loved, fed, looked after, and educated, and these needs are rights to be honored. We have a responsibility to work on behalf of the children who need us. Although the book hints at the realities of war, child abuse, hunger, child labor, and discrimination due to religious beliefs it does so in a gentle way.
Faith Talk Questions:
- What kinds of things do children need?
- What can adults do to help children?
- Pick one of your favorite illustrations. What do you like about it?
- Do you know anyone at your school or church who you think needs more adult help?
- What do you think God wants for all children?
This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Anne Rankowitz.
For Every Child by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
