{"id":5281,"date":"2021-02-11T00:01:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T06:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5281"},"modified":"2021-02-11T09:25:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T15:25:26","slug":"abundant-love-before-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5281","title":{"rendered":"Abundant Love Before Breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWe’ve heard a lot lately in the field of children’s literature about books about “emotional intelligence” (the ability to identify and manage one\u2019s emotions, while also respecting the feelings of others). Though I sometimes wince at buzzwords (or phrases, in this case), I’m all for this. It can be a cold, cruel world out there, and children who learn to manage emotions at a young age, and who continue to, will have better relationships, healthy coping skills, confidence in problem-solving \u2014 all good stuff to make it easier to live on this planet. <\/p>\n

Enter Jane Porter’s<\/a><\/strong> The Boy Who Loved Everyone<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Candlewick, January 2021), illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring<\/a><\/strong>. There’s a lot to love about this one. <\/p>\n

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Dimitri is having a big day. It’s his first day at a new preschool. He’s happy to be there, and (as you can see below) leans next to Liam during storytime, rests his head on his shoulder, and tells him that he loves him. Sensitive Liam loves just about everyone and everything, and he’s demonstrative with his affection. He also tells (from somewhat of a distance) Sophie, Stella, and Sue on the playground that he loves them. He hugs the tree, with leaves shaped like hearts, and tells it he loves it. Ditto for some ants, the lunch lady, the class guinea pig, the paintbrushes, and even more classmates. He’s generally met with confusion, and most of the kids either blush, laugh, crack a joke, and\/or turn away from him. <\/p>\n

Now, it’s one thing to turn away from the creepy kid who can’t respect boundaries and can’t keep his distance. That’s not Dimitri, who generally (except for Liam) keeps his distance and who is merely one of those children with love nearly spilling from him. We all know those children, and the world can be a difficult place for them, particularly when their expressions of love are met with confusion. That’s where Dimitri’s mother comes in. When he tells her on the second day of school that he doesn’t want to return and she asks why, he responds with: “Because not one person there said that they love me.” It’s on their walk to school that day that she explains to him, while also pointing out examples, that people have various ways of showing how they feel. Even just a smile and a wave can mean “I love you too.” <\/p>\n

It’s a big-hearted story, one that Porter handles with finesse. Shearring’s style is perfectly suited to this remarkably child-friendly tale; there is a looseness and spontaneity to her work, an unaffected air of simplicity. Also, I could stare at the first spread pictured below all day. Shearring has captured a preschool story time in all its erratic energy and weirdness (that’s a compliment). The kid picking their nose, while standing and listening to the story? The one lying down while someone plays with their hair? Yes, this is reality. And it’s very, very funny. <\/p>\n

Below are two spreads. <\/p>\n

Here’s to kids like Dimitri.
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“It was Dimitri’s first day at his new preschool. He was very excited to be there.
At storytime, he rested his head on Liam’s shoulder. ‘I love you, Liam,’ he said with a sigh. Liam didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. Once all the children stopped wriggling, the teacher began the story. It was about a dragon, a volcano, and
a magic teapot. Dimitri thought it was an excellent story.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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“At bedtime, Dimitri whispered, ‘I love you, Mom.’ ‘And I love you, Dimitri,’ she said. ‘You’re my best, best boy.’ Dimitri smiled and sighed and went to sleep.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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THE BOY WHO LOVED EVERYONE. Text \u00a9 2021 Jane Porter. Illustrations \u00a9 2021 Maisie Paradise Shearring and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA on behalf of Walker Books, London.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Click cover to enlarge)   We’ve heard a lot lately in the field of children’s literature about books about “emotional intelligence” (the ability to identify and manage one\u2019s emotions, while also respecting the feelings of others). Though I sometimes wince at buzzwords (or phrases, in this case), I’m all for this. It can be a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}