We Share This Neighborhood: A Community Book

by Dan Saks, Brooke Smart (Illustrator)

Overview

A rhyming, heartfelt celebration of neighborhood communities and the vital role they play in young children’s lives.

This formative board book is an appreciation of neighborhood communities and the many ways in which they help develop empathy, compassion, and collective responsibility. Through a handful of specific yet universal scenarios, set in four different kinds of communities (suburban, urban, rural, and manufactured home), young readers will understand what it means to be a part of a neighborhood community and celebrate how to share with and care for one another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593661789
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/20/2024
Series:	Community Books
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	24
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Dan Saks is an author, musician, and music educator specializing in early childhood education. He has lived and taught in New York City, Mexico City, and Switzerland and has traveled the world as a performing musician. He has published three books for children, centered around the theme of family. He currently lives with his wife and two daughters in Brooklyn, New York, where he produces Noodle Loaf, a popular music education podcast for kids with over one million downloads. A Top 10 Apple Podcast in Music Education for Kids, Noodle Loaf builds on the fundamentals of music through play and the exploration of musical genres and silly sounds... lots of silly sounds.

Brooke Smart is an illustrator based in Sandy, Utah, where she spends her days gathering ideas for stories and her nights telling those stories with her pen and paintbrush, inspired by her children. Brooke earned a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University and started her artistic career as a fine artist. She loves working with traditional media, especially with watercolor, gouache, and on occasion, acrylic paint. Her work appears in children's magazines, children's books, but also on cards and other learning materials. She lives with her husband and three children.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2024

Toddler-PreS—New in the "Community Books" series, this book's rhyming prose makes it an easy read for those just learning to form words. Everyone is important in the neighborhood and community, according to Saks. In a second-person voice, "you" are an important part of your neighborhood. Everyone has the "job" of helping each other and making the place they live peaceful, pretty, green, and a great place to dream. Whether born in the neighborhood or from far away, neighbors are an important piece of their community. Saks invites children to listen to the symphony of music outside before bedtime: "you lie in your bed,/ eyes closed listening: To the sirens of helpers,/ a bicycle bell,/ a dog on a walk,/ a friendly farewell." The poetic imagery will captivate. Although the neighborhood of this book is a cityscape, the points are made so children in suburban or rural homes will understand that their neighborhood may be different, but it, too, has its own symphony. VERDICT This lovely book will teach children what makes a community safe and beautiful; a great addition to any collection.—Pamela Thompson McLeod

School Library Journal