Remember All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum's 1990 bestseller? Fulghum lays out basic guidelines like "share everything," "play fair," and "don't hit people" that could transform the world if we all abided by them.
Sometimes we run across a book for young children that could revolutionize humanity if only we really heard its message. Together We Grow, written by Edgar Award-winning author Susan Vaught and engagingly illustrated by New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Kelly Murphy, is one such book.
The book starts with a storm: "Lightning gash! Windy lash!" A startled fox leaps through the air as bolts streak across the sky. The fox climbs a stack of logs outside a big barn to peer in through a window, and sees, staring back up at him, the frightened faces of a couple of dozen farm animals. They tell the fox to go away, that the barn is already full, and we see her outside with her three pups, looking longingly back.
The only wordless page spread in the entire story shows a duck emerging from the barn to greet the fox outdoors, beak to nose in the rain. From this turning point onward, we see blossoming friendship, calming of fears, introductions to the others, celebration of differences ("slow or quick, lumpy and slick ..."), and love's ability to prevail.
What we learn in kindergarten is, as the saying goes, simple but not easy, and so are the lessons of this book. It only takes the courage of one being, met by the sincere hearts of others, to create unity. It is possible — and deeply satisfying — to get along and to grow together. The four-to-eight year olds for whom this book is written will understand these truths, and for grown-ups, it's not too late to learn.
