Everybody!

The premise of Elise Gravel’s Everybody! is that, while human beings are unique, they also have much in common. EVERYBODY has “strengths, flaws, feelings, ideas and needs.”

As such, the book serves to reassure children they are not alone and that what they might be experiencing is widely shared by others or rather, EVERYBODY. As well, an important element of Everybody!, while not overt, is reinforcing in children the need to respect others. From the opening page to the end, the book is uplifting, cheerful, and encouraging, but the subject matter has a serious intent.

The quirky and fun-loving characters are monsters, simply drawn with unique body/facial characteristics (nose, mouth, torso) and detailing to differentiate one from another. Illustrations overall are modest, yet bold, in colour, with the focus placed primarily on the characters and their activities that often take up the majority of the space on a given page. EVERYBODY, in upper case, is the first word in each two-page entry, large and obvious compared to the rest of the text.

The back of the book shows several hands touching, one on top of the other, highlighting the significance of unity in an increasingly polarized world. That being said, Everybody! is an important read for humans of all ages.