5 Books About Togetherness and Community
Those who thirst for community write newsletters
Community has been on my mind and it felt like the right time, with US Thanksgiving around the corner, to share this list of children’s books. I try to make sure themes of community come through many of the lists I create but it’s a topic that merits its own list.
If you’ve been around you know that this is something that I am trying very hard to build. It’s not easy, especially for an introvert like myself but I do try.
Especially now, when it feels very much like you against the world, I have to keep reminding myself that community is the heart of everything worth existing for. It’s the core tenet of humanity’s survival. So if you’re feeling a bit lonely or like you’re lost on an island, I hope this list gives you some hope and peace. (Children’s books aren’t just for kids!)
Holiday Stress Party
Speaking of community, I’m stoked to be hosting a Holiday (Un?)Stress Party with the brilliant
of and of . We’re going to get together for a community discussion—which we hope you’ll join!—and laugh (and probably cry) about how stressful the holidays can be. Join in and unleash all that pent-up stress / nervous energy / anxiety / rage to Internet randos. It’ll be fun, I promise (or at least cathartic). The party starts Monday, Dec. 2nd and goes all week. Stay tuned for more details!P.S.
For no other reason than I want to share my favorite banana bread with my lovely people here, this is the banana bread recipe I swear by.
Bear’s Busy Family
Written by Stella Blackstone and Illustrated by Debbie Harter
Recommended Ages: 1-3 years old
The perfect introduction to what it means to be a part of a community. For our littlest, their first exposure to a community will likely be their families—their immediate and extended family members. A simple, infectious rhyme that visits with different family members: from grandparents to uncles and cousins, we get to know them all and the contributions they make to a family. The book is subtle; at first glance, it seems to merely be a way to explain the different members of a family. But as you read on, and bask in the coziness of the bright, intimate family scenes, you’ll notice how each member is bringing something to the table—their talents, their interests, their skills—and enriching the whole family as a result.
Buy now*
Our Little Kitchen
Written and Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Recommended Ages: 3-6 years old
The perfect lead-up to Thanksgiving, this joyous, colorful book is a sum of all the best parts of gathering with your neighbors, making delicious food, and serving your community. This hybrid picture/comic book told in lilting, exuberant rhyme, is a delight from end to end. The end pages have a large sprawling recipe should you and your kids decide to try your hand at making vegetable soup. The story begins as a young boy and his adult enter the kitchen to find happy chaos. Every Wednesday, a diverse medley of people gather together to prepare a meal for their local community. We see various neighbors picking up ripened fruit and vegetables from the community garden to be used in the meal. They joyously make the best of what they’ve been given. And the satisfying culmination when everyone gathers together to partake in a shared meal, conversation, and laughter. There’s a buoyancy and elation to the vibrant, happy cartoon illustrations that transcend the page. It tugs at our most primal need to feel connected to one another and do good work.
Buy now*
Hugo
Written by Atinuke and Illustrated by Birgitta Sif
Recommended Ages: 4-7 years old
If you don’t know Atinuke (of Anna Hibiscus and Baby Goes to the Market fame), please rectify that immediately. You’re sleeping on a powerhouse of a children’s book author! This is the first of Atinuke’s books that is NOT set in Africa. Instead, we’re visiting a lush green park in Paris presided over by the watchful pigeon, Hugo. Through his efforts, Hugo has gotten to know the neighborhood well. He’s well acquainted with the moms and their babies, reads the news with Monsieur Occupe, and knows all the kids who run and play in the park by name.
But there is one house that Hugo does not know well. Hugo patiently knocks (with his beak of course) on the window whose curtains are never open. But his advances are rebuffed when he can see the outline of someone moving away from the window. One day in the spring, that changes when the curtains are drawn open and Hugo’s knock is greeted with the shy, tentative smile of a young girl. When Hugo is attacked by a dog, the young girl nurses him through his recovery. When Hugo is finally able to resume his park duties, the neighborhood cheers with relief and delight that their beloved pigeon has returned. Sif’s dreamy illustrations bring Paris to life with softly diffused colors and a certain je ne sais quoi. This sweet, enduring story is a reminder of how we pave the path to connection, consciously or subconsciously—even when we don’t know each other well. And it shows that the greatest happiness you can experience is the gentle pull-and-tug of a human bond.
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Last Stop on Market Street
Written by Matt de la Peña and Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Recommended Ages: 5-8 years old
Would this list be complete without including this iconic, timeless book? Of course not! While this book tenderly, and subtly shows us how gratitude can manifest in tiny, small ways, it’s actually the theme of community that pulled me in. CJ and his Nana are leaving church on a rainy day and heading to the bus stop when CJ notices that some of his friends going back home in their cars. And so becomes a series of complaints posed as questions. “Nana, how come we don’t got a car?” he asks. But for every complaint, his Nana has a whip-smart response to remind him of what he does have.
If you look closely, it’s about so much more than appreciating what you have. It’s about realizing that the more you have, the less likely you’re interacting with the world and people around you. When CJ’s friends go off in their cars, they’re not getting on the bus talking to a blind man and learning how he interacts with the world. When two boys on the bus are busy listening to their music, they miss the live concert being held in front of them as a fellow passenger plays the guitar. This beautiful book with its lyrical text and gorgeous, vibrant painted illustrations highlights all that we compromise in our efforts for more and better. A lovely, simple story about gratitude yes, but also about the beauty of observing life around us.
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The Greentail Mouse
Written and Illustrated by Leo Lionni
Recommended Ages: 7 - 10 years old
A thrilling, cautionary tale about what happens when you lose yourself to hate and inauthenticity that’s told with a contradictory innocence and gracefulness that only Lionni can pull off so well. This is a darker story best suited for older, more mature kids. A group of country mice frolic and enjoy their safe, sheltered community until one day a city mouse visits them and tells this little colony of a grand celebration called Mardi Gras. The country mice love the idea of a night of merriment and masks and they agree to hold their own Mardi Gras celebration. But what was intended as a good old-fashioned frolic becomes menacing. Once the mice have donned their masks—one even dyes her tail green—they scare each other with their ferocious disguises and become lost in their new identities. What was once a peaceful, caring community instead becomes suspicious and distrustful of one another. When a visiting mouse laughs at their folly, they come to their senses and destroy their masks, and slowly forget what happened (except for Greentail Mouse who somehow can’t scrub the green off her tail).
This book leaves a lot of room for interpretation which is what makes it a great read for older kids. There are so many different approaches to understanding this story. To me, it reads as an allegory: a warning of how easy it is to dismantle our sense of community and interdependence when we hide behind masks or appeal to false ideals. Lionni’s masterful illustrations showcase a sweet, idyllic mice community paired with the dark underpinnings of the story demonstrating how easy it is to corrupt the good and innocent and how vigilant we must be to guard our contentment against that.
Buy now*
Let’s talk…
If you’re in the US, you know Thanksgiving is next week! What are your plans? What are you excited to eat?
The older I get, the more the theme of community keeps floating up to the top of my conscience. What do YOU do to foster community? What do you wish you did more of?
What’s a core memory you have of belonging to a community?
*Thank you for using (at no additional cost to you) the affiliate links in this post! :-)
Our Little Kitchen is so so good! We have also been reading Keepunumuk, a book written and illustrated by Indigenous people about the First Peoples’ experiences with “the newcomers.” My 5yo son keeps asking for it night after night.
Our Last Kitchen looks absolutely lovely!