All You Need

Schwartz’s poetic second-person text lists life’s essentials (“All you need// is a planet to live on// a sun to give you light”) while tracing a Chinese child’s maturation into a young artist. Debut illustrator Hu’s lush, full spreads follow the child and a swallow companion—per an illustrator’s note, signifying “a messenger that brings happiness and is a symbol of homecoming”—through seasons and years. Beginning as an infant with their parents, the images show the child’s growth into a young artist, who eventually travels to “a land// where you are welcome,” learns “words to share your thoughts,” and creates a book—whose cover matches the jacket of this volume—that they send to their parents. Words and images gently align (the word warmth against an orange backdrop) in this gentle register of needs that moves through physiological requirements to successful self-actualization. Creators’ notes conclude. Age 4–8. (Apr.) Author’s agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Marzena Torzecka, Marlena Agency.