All You Need

Her parents bring her into the world surrounded by the necessities of life: air to breath, sun to provide warmth and luminescence, and rain clouds to water the earth, igniting new growth. The little girl has food to provide sustenance and drink to satisfy her thirst. While she wades through a pond with her friends, a bird watches over her. He follows her to the wilderness where she crafts a picture of nature. As she journeys to another land far away from home, she realizes her dream of becoming an artist. The bird, still by her side, carries a homemade gift all the way back to her Chinese homeland.

This eloquent book focuses on the universal theme of survival. It covers the essentials of the human existence. The author’s unembellished, eloquent prose invites young readers to witness the transformation of a girl from childhood into adulthood.

The soft hues of the watercolor illustrations are soothing, offering an ambience of peace. The pictures are complimentary of the text and will stimulate youths’ curiosity and imagination, causing them to ponder the bird’s significance as well as the temporary absence of the child’s parents. They’ll be drawn to this thoughtful story, wanting to revisit it a number of times.