One and Everything

“Once there were many stories for the world,” begins this abstract extended metaphor from Winston (A Child of Books). Each “story” is represented as a softly washed watercolor circle floating against a white background and filled with character-based patterns. A small, gray circle filled with roman text decides “to be... the most important story in the world.” Beginning to consume the others, it proclaims “I am the Only Story.” But once inside it, “a few letters got together, then words,” until a voice challenges the consuming circle’s claims: If it contains all the words for all the stories, is it not One Story, but Every Story? This revolutionary revelation sets all the tales free, and they visually transition to a ring of bright, coexisting wash circles. An author’s note describes global changes that have pressured people to speak the same language to the detriment of others, half of which—along with attendant narratives and stories—“are now under threat of disappearing.” Though the allegory’s conceit may take some time for readers to twig, extensive back matter reveals a vast array of writing systems, and makes the case for their preservation. Ages 7–10. (Nov.)