{"id":10637,"date":"2017-12-05T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T14:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/?p=10637"},"modified":"2019-02-01T15:06:52","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T20:06:52","slug":"oliver-jefferss-here-we-are-is-a-wondrous-read-for-parents-and-kids-alike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/oliver-jefferss-here-we-are-is-a-wondrous-read-for-parents-and-kids-alike\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliver Jeffers\u2019s Here We Are<\/i> Is a Wondrous Read for Kids and Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

The morning I gave birth to my daughter, I shuffled very slowly and reluctantly into the hospital. I was terrified. Terrified of labor and childbirth, but even more terrified of being in charge of another life. I mean, I couldn\u2019t keep a plant alive. How could I be expected to keep a human alive and<\/em> guide her towards becoming a kind, empathetic, well-rounded adult?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than 11 years later and I\u2019m still sometimes seized with this fear. Am I steering her (and the little sister that came after her) well? Am I letting them make mistakes but encouraging them to stay on the right path? Am I giving them the knowledge they need to thrive?<\/p>\n

The moment I opened up Oliver Jeffers\u2019s new picture book, Here We Are<\/a><\/em>, I recognized a fellow wide-eyed new parent. I have adored reading his other stories<\/a> to my daughters because of their gorgeous illustrations and the layers of meaning packed into each and every sweet and humorous tale. But this book struck right into the center of my maternal heart.<\/p>\n

\"oliverjeffers_inline4\"<\/p>\n

Inspired by the birth of Jeffers\u2019s son, Here We Are<\/em> is a guide of sorts \u2014 a guide to living on Earth and being a good human. It\u2019s a dad just trying to make sense of things for his brand-new baby, and maybe a little for himself as well.<\/p>\n

The book starts with an introduction to Earth and its position in our solar system (my 6-year-old loved<\/em> poring over these illustrations since she\u2019s learning about the solar system in school). From there, it describes elements of our world\u00a0and its inhabitants. Jeffers explains that people come in all shapes, sizes, and colors but we\u2019re all essentially the same.<\/p>\n

\"oliverjeffers_inline2-1\"<\/p>\n

I was glad to see that this part really struck my daughter. She took her time looking at each drawing of people from all walks of life. They\u2019re all different colors \u2014 from peach and brown to pink, green, and purple \u2014 and range from teensy to hulking. They\u2019re also from a variety of cultures and social classes. There\u2019s a queen and a shoeless beggar. A man in a baseball cap and wheelchair and a sumo wrestler. A woman in a burka and two brides in their wedding gowns.<\/p>\n

Here We Are<\/em> ties the great big cosmos and all of us tiny little humans together: While Earth is huge and there are many people living here, we\u2019re all in this together. Jeffers reminds us to be kind and that we\u2019re never alone \u2014 a message that\u2019s as comforting to parents as it is to small children.<\/p>\n

Heartwarming and sprinkled with Jeffers\u2019s signature wit, this story touched my daughter and me in different ways. My daughter was taken by the vastness of the universe and how teensy humans are in comparison. She was in awe of how small Earth seems when you look at it as part of the solar system, even though things like mountains and skyscrapers seem unbelievably big. She also loved the idea that we\u2019re all the same. She kept repeating \u201cwe might look different, but we\u2019re all people.\u201d I loved that.<\/p>\n

\"oliverjeffers_inline1\"<\/p>\n

As for me, I immediately related to the desire to explain our chaotic little planet and all of its beauty to my children. I also loved that it dwells on the importance of kindness (something I hope to instill in my babies) and the idea that we\u2019re all on this crazy journey together. The latter is something that\u2019s especially important for new parents to hear, making this book a great gift for anyone who is expecting.<\/p>\n

When I look back at my wide-eyed, very pregnant self, I wish I had this book tucked into my hospital bag. Not only would it have given me a place to start when it came to raising my baby, it would have calmed my own fears as well. After all, we\u2019re all in this together.<\/p>\n

no no 9780399167898 Learn More About the Book:
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/315617\/here-we-are-by-oliver-jeffers\/ by Oliver Jeffers <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heartwarming and sprinkled with Jeffers\u2019s signature wit, Here We Are<\/i> touched my daughter and me in many different ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,84,134,241,453,1007],"coauthors":[1038],"class_list":["post-10637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-picture-books","tag-book-wisdom","tag-baby-shower","tag-baby-books","tag-oliver-jeffers","tag-kindness","ages_stages-pre-k","ages_stages-growing-reader"],"yoast_head":"\nOliver Jeffers\u2019s Here We Are Is a Wondrous Read for Kids and Parents | Brightly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heartwarming and sprinkled with Jeffers\u2019s signature wit, Here We Are touched my daughter and me in many different ways.\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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