One and Everything

By Author / Illustrator

Sam Winston

Genre

Representation & Inclusion

Age range(s)

Publisher

Walker Books Ltd

ISBN

9781529509298

Format

Hardback

Published

03-11-2022

Synopsis

From Sam Winston, the co-creator of the Bologna Ragazzi award-winning A Child of Books, comes a thought-provoking celebration of the power of stories and written languages, and the imperative to preserve them.

Once there were many stories in the world. Some had beautiful sunsets, some lived at the bottom of the sea, and some were simply about dogs. Until one story decided that it was going to be the most important story ever. It called itself the One and started to consume every other story in existence. Soon it seemed that the One was all that was left ... or was it?

Inspired by the Endangered Alphabets project, aimed at preserving cultures by sharing their unique scripts, author-illustrator Sam Winston uses writing systems such as cuneiform, Canadian aboriginal, Egyptian hieroglyphs and ogham to illustrate this book in his signature typography-based style, using symbols and letters that have relayed the world's stories over the centuries.

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Reviews

What happens when one story - that calls itself One - decides it is more important than anything else? When One begins dominating by removing other stories? This moving, intriguing story explores just that. The simple, bold illustrations add to the power of this story. As tales disappear and become engulfed by One, it takes one small, brave soul to stand up and question events. Realising that together more is achieved, One explodes into an array of colours and stories.

Following the story, the author has added information about language; emphasising the importance of traditional tales, fables and languages. As the world becomes a larger, more diverse place, some languages and tales are disappearing.

This book is incredibly thought-provoking and will lead to great discussions and debates around language, it is also a great starting point to many units of work.

40 pages / Reviewed by Maria, teacher