We Are One: How the World Adds Up

by Susan Hood, Linda Yan (Illustrator)

Overview

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts—and unity and connection are most important of all—in a beautifully illustrated counting book with a timely message.

One can be one thing all on its own—one star, one stream, one stick, one stone. But those on their toes, those using their smarts, know one can be more than the sum of its parts.

Consider the two slices of bread that make up one sandwich, or the three lines of poetry that form one haiku, or even the ten years that form one decade. From one to ten, from sandwiches to centuries, every part is necessary to the whole. In this fascinating concept book, a simple rhyming narration aimed at younger children is complemented by informational panels about subjects like the four compass points, the five acts in Shakespeare, the seven colors of a rainbow, or the nine innings in baseball. Award-winning author Susan Hood and debut children’s book illustrator Linda Yan offer a mind-expanding look at early math concepts such as part/whole relationships, fractions, and addition—while underlying themes of cooperation, peace, and kindness make this beautiful volume one to be enjoyed by anyone at any age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536227857
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Double Take! A New Look at Opposites, illustrated by Jay Fleck; Leaps and Bounce and Rooting for You, both illustrated by Matthew Cordell; The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics, illustrated by Christiane Engel; and Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World, illustrated by 13 extraordinary women. She is the recipient of an E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor, a Christopher Award, a Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and a Golden Kite Award. Susan Hood lives with her family in coastal Connecticut.

Linda Yan is a freelance illustrator who has illustrated for the New York Times, BuzzFeed, Tor Books, and many others. This is her first picture book. Linda Yan lives in the prairies of Canada, but she dreams of one day living in a lighthouse with a bunny and a duck.

Susan Hood is the author of more than two hundred children’s books, including Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport; Leaps and Bounce and Rooting for You, both illustrated by Matthew Cordell; and Spike, the Mixed-up Monster, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. She has worked as the children’s content director of Nick Jr. magazine and as an editor at Instructor magazine, Scholastic, and Sesame Workshop. Susan Hood lives with her family in coastal Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

05/24/2021

Combining rhyming lines with context beneath, this counting picture book offers a summation of things that exist in the world. “One can be one thing/ all on its own—one star,/ one stream,/ one stick,/ one stone,” Hood begins. Text along the bottom of the page reads, “The idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is often credited to Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher.” The book proceeds to detail all manner of things in numbers from one to 10—three-lined haiku, five-act plays, six-sided snowflakes. Textural digital illustrations by Yan follow a peach-skinned figure in a yellow outfit through the pages, which feature an anthropomorphic cast of animals. The scope is somewhat overwhelming, lacking in unified subject matter, but trivia-minded children will surely find tidbits to enjoy. Back matter includes sources and resources and “some other things that come in groups.” Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

An engaging look at the component numbers in just about everything. Hood uses simple rhymed couplets pitched to offer examples of single units composed of one to 10 separate parts. . . . Yan’s bright, full-page illustrations in cartoon-animation style star a small, dark-haired, pale-skinned child with a diverse supporting cast of child and animal characters and give energy to every spread. . . . Though some of the references are likely to be new to the audience, the illustrations provide sufficient context to carry the meaning if not all the nuances. . . . Immensely satisfying for young lovers of numbers and fascinating for everyone.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Combining rhyming lines with context beneath, this counting picture book offers a summation of things that exist in the world.
—Publishers Weekly

With a blend of animal characters and humans who are dressed like stars, the illustrations play with the presence of light throughout the story, enforcing the idea in the book that “we’re a vast constellation.” The colorful, gentle illustrations are perfectly suited to the text, and the book feels very much like a bedtime read that can grow with a curious child.
—School Library Journal

Math meets philosophy, as Hood views numbers, specifically groups of one to ten, through a unique and thought provoking lens. . . Textured and whimsical, Yan’s digital illustrations feature a young girl dressed as a golden-yellow star who, ultimately, is joined by a diverse “constellation” of other star-children to celebrate the oneness of humanity.
—The Horn Book

A poetic ode to numeracy, this unique mathematical concept book walks the reader through numbers one through ten and explains how those are significant to a variety of topics. . . . This book would make a lovely addition to any elementary math collection.
—School Library Connection

With simple rhyming text and math examples from 1 to 10, this picture book provides a unique look at the numbers we encounter every day. . . . Bold and fun illustrations pull it all together.
—The Londoner

This unique counting book will pique your child’s curiosity, encourage them to ask questions, and look at the world in a new way.
—Brightly

That Hood and Yan go from a detailed look at how our world ‘adds up’ to such a big-picture concept (we’re all made of atoms and are all in this together) is splendid.
—Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

From the Publisher

08/01/2021

PreS-Gr 2—This rhyming book travels the world through numbers, with examples as varied as the five acts of Shakespeare's plays to the nine innings in baseball. At the heart of the narrative is the Aristotelian ideal that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, born out both through the primary rhyming text and the prose narrative with factual tidbits that run across the bottom of each page as the story progresses. With a blend of animal characters and humans who are dressed like stars, the illustrations play with the presence of light throughout the story, enforcing the idea in the book that "we're a vast constellation." The colorful, gentle illustrations are perfectly suited to the text, and the book feels very much like a bedtime read that can grow with a curious child. VERDICT A lovely addition to home libraries and library collections for young readers.—Jen McConnel, Longwood Univ., Virginia

School Library Journal

★ 2021-07-14
An engaging look at the component numbers in just about everything.

Hood uses simple rhymed couplets pitched to offer examples of single units composed of one to 10 separate parts. For instance, the number of acts found in each of Shakespeare’s plays, the number of dot positions in a Braille cell, and the colors of the rainbow are used for five, six, and seven. Yan’s bright, full-page illustrations in cartoon-animation style star a small, dark-haired, pale-skinned child with a diverse supporting cast of child and animal characters and give energy to every spread. A yellow panel runs across the bottom of all the pages with a longer explanatory text that includes details and further examples. “One sandwich requires two slices of bread. / Two vows make one marriage when friends want to wed,” reads the primary text. In the panel below, Hood quotes Justice Anthony Kennedy’s words in Obergefell v. Hodges: “In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.” Though some of the references are likely to be new to the audience, the illustrations provide sufficient context to carry the meaning if not all the nuances. Backmatter includes sources for the facts as well as child-friendly sources for more information; happily, there’s also a collection of more examples for each of the first 10 integers, including the names of shapes for triangles through decagons.

Immensely satisfying for young lovers of numbers and fascinating for everyone. (Informational picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews