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“Schwartz’s poetic text is both profound and simple as it enumerates all that is necessary to thrive from the physical (planet, sun, rain, food, water, sleep, etc.) to the emotional (welcome, love, a voice)…Hu’s scenes are as full of color and light as they are evocative and beautiful. They tell a story within the text of a girl experiencing all of Schwartz’s milestones while on her own journey from a childhood in Hunan to adulthood as an artist who ultimately resides in a different country from her family.”

– School Library Journal, Starred Review

All You Need

Written by Howard Schwartz
Illustrated by Jasu Hu
Published by Neal Porter Books

A little girl grows up to be an accomplished artist in this sumptuously illustrated book about the small things that lead to a rich and fulfilling life.

All You need
Is a planet to live on,
A sun to give you light,
And warmth. . .

In All You Need, poet Howard Schwartz’s graceful, deceptively simple text describes a handful of things anyone needs to live a rich and fulfilling life, made all the more potent by the illustrations of debut picture book artist Jasu Hu, who uses her talents to create a rich and powerful narrative describing her own journey, creative and otherwise, from a childhood in China to her arrival to study art in New York. Ultimately, she creates her own book, this book, a gift to her distant parents.

Primary ISBN: 9780823443291
Publication Date: April 2022
Available As: Hardcover
Picture Book, Age 04 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , ,

Setting: China (Hunan), United States (New York)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Home Country, Immigrant

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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