Everything Changes

Everything Changes is a must-have book for parents wanting to raise happier children. The illustrations are beautiful too. I cannot recommend it enough! Maureen Healy, author of The Emotionally Healthy Child and The Happiness Workbook for Kids

Such a beautifully book that reminds us that change is just around the corner, but that's okay. Especially with children who have so little control on the big decisions in their lives. I love the concept and the way it is written.

This rhyming picture book repeats the message that change is constantly happening all around us and reaffirms that change is alright. Using real life examples of growth and changes in plants and animals, with the changes of seasons or night and day, the book confirms that changes happen often and that they are a good thing. The message is clear and is stated very positively, in hopes that anxious children will see that while change may seem scary it is natural and everything will be ok. The soothing rhythmic beat to the story and the calming illustrations will also likely help with that. I also love that the settings are all over the world and include a variety of people and animals, demonstrating that we all have to deal with change and hopefully sharing scenes that may look familiar to the children reading this book. While the text is repetitive and predictable (in a good way!) it can be read as part of shared reading or some children may be able to read it independently as well. For some children, hearing the same message repeated will be helpful, and for others, being able to pull the book out and read it as needed would be good too. There are also lots of positive affirmations that could be said in stressful times. I could definitely see myself purchasing a copy of this book for my grade 3 classroom library. I would recommend this book to parents of children in the age 3-9 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was such a lovely story about impermanence that even young kids can understand.

My children enjoyed the rhyming verse and the sweet message. The illustrations are colorful and depict children and animals from all over the world. The author’s note at the end adds more context to the content of the story.

This book is a great addition to a home library that supports the development of the whole child.

Thank you to Shambhala Publications and NetGalley for the advance reader copy!

An excellent book on the fact of impermanence and how mindful awareness can help one to embrace and enjoy the process of change, even if it comes with difficulty.

This is a lovely story told in rhyme about how everything changes ("and that's okay"). The illustrations are bright and happy, and there's a lot of representation of different children and places. The rhyme works well and is very sing-song and catchy, and the message is one that children and adults need to be reminded of. Recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

What a gorgeous book! I loved the beautiful illustrations and the rhyming text. A great reminder for children and adults that everything in life changes - and that's ok.

“Everything Changes” written by Carol Dodd and illustrated by Erin Huybrechts is a children's picture book, but the message within the pages is one suitable for ALL ages. This rhyming book is filled with gorgeous watercolor style illustrations and features q variety of landscapes, animals, and people of varying cultural, racial/ethnic and religious backgrounds. My only complaint is that disability is not (visibly) represented. Despite this, I would still recommend this book to others as a great tool for talking about how change is okay and a normal part of the human experience.

This is one of the most gorgeously illustrated children’s books that I have seen. Go slowly and let the pictures speak to you (and the child that you may be reading this to.) The subject is impermanence, a topic that I was recently learning more about in a book by Pema Chodron. Here the concept is presented in an easy to understand both neutral and positive way. Learning to accept that things change truly can help in living one’s life. The earlier this is learned, maybe the better!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Shambala Publications, Inc. for this title. All opinions are my own.

In the author’s note at the end of this lovely children’s book, the author talks about how the Buddha taught that wanting things to stay the same causes us a lot of pain, but accepting that nothing lasts forever can lead to peace and happiness. This really struck me [especially right now with people talking about going back to the “good ole days”] as this seems to be something I struggle with sometimes. This book talks [ in a simple rhyming way] about how our thoughts and emotions will constantly change [sometimes several times a day], much like the weather and the way you look at it and how you choose to experience it will make all the difference in the world.

Using real life examples of growth and change within the world of plants and animals as well as human being [in how we age and change as we do so], this book shows how everything truly does change and all we need to do it be open to it and “go with the flow” [even when that is the hardest thing]. Written in such a way that even the smallest child will understand, it is a positive way to look at change and how it happens everywhere.

This book is also gorgeously illustrated and not only shows the plants and animals [the illustrator’s animals are just fantastic]. It also shows children from different places all over the world and how everyone has to deal with change and I believe it will lead to questions about these places and where they are at and will open many a discussion about different cultures and simple geography. I can see kids loving having their parents/caregivers read this to them and then as they get older and can read themselves, I can see them going back to this again and again, just to remind themselves that change is all around us, and that is okay.

Thank you to NetGalley, Carol Dodd, Erin Huybrechts - Illustrator, and Shambhala Publications for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.