I love the illustrations in this book however the text falls short for me. I love the idea but I don't think its as well executed as You Are Stardust or other similar books. The wording is a bit awkward in some parts with an odd juxtaposition of sweet sentiment and scientific fact. Also, the links between some of the concepts are a bit tenuous or at least would be difficult to explain to the intended audience, which begs the question, who is the intended audience?

While the pictures in this book are beyond spectacular, the prose seems more like an afterthought. The book begins on a somewhat strong footing, but with the third page or so it becomes quite weird, rendering it difficult for me to use this book for teaching purposes. I don't know what to do with the scientific facts in this book. For example, how do I connect the fact that playing in mud makes learning easier? ..... I think that part of my confusion with this book lies with the title. I thought the prose would continually connect the fact that kids are continually connected to friendly animals, like the robin on the cover, but the prose meanders to animals, flora and fauna, even microorganisms that are beyond my scope, animals that are far from cozy. I don't know about you, but to me it's not entirely a reassuring thought that I'm surrounded by microorganisms or that the fish I just consumed previously gorged himself on the poop of other animals. If you're an art teacher, I'm sure that there's much here to inspire you and your students, but if you're looking for a suitable text for language arts or science, I would advise you to look elsewhere.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for an advanced reader copy.

This book has great illustrations. The concept of the story is appreciated, but seems a bit advanced for kids.

I'm not sure all kids will understand the link between us and nature. I think this book does a great attempt at it. It has delicious vocabulary for kids and might work well for older kids.
One thing that bothered me about this book was that it was describing the link between nature and humanity and uses beautiful language, but then included the word poop, which is offputting for me.

Lovely story of the interconnectedness of all creatures on Earth. No matter who you are, you really are never alone! Nice explanation for little kids. I can't comment on the illustrations, tho'. They didn't download properly. The bits I was able to make out seemed detailed, so maybe a one on one book.