We the People Is All the People

A straightforward and inclusive message distinguishes this powerfully wrought narrative definition of “we” from Reeves, making his picture book debut, and Tonatiuh (Game of Freedom), which opens with the U.S. Constitution’s Preamble. A clear concept serves as the work’s opening and concluding line, “ ‘We the people’ is all the people,” and unadorned language extrapolates in easy-to-understand descriptions. “We the people” includes those “next door,/ down the street,/ and across the country”; “living in houses,/ apartments,/ and in shelters”; worshipping in “churches,/ mosques,/ and temples”; and “who were here,/ who arrived later,/ who still come today.” Thinly outlined and digitally colored shapes in the artist’s signature style represent figures of various abilities, ages, genders, and skin tones interacting in concert and with the aim of mutual aid. It’s a clearly rendered tribute to community care and unity that’s anchored in hues of red, white, and blue. Includes creators’ notes. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)