Here For Each Other: You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith

YOU HOLD ME UP WHEN YOU SHARE WITH ME.

Sharing is really the simplest form of caring. Whether it is an apple, a meal, a hug, a helping hand, advice, or approval, it is what makes for a social connection.

When you share a dance or a story and a song, a cuddle with a baby or some comforting touch, a laugh or a lesson, it means that someone belongs. It means acceptance, that someone belongs somewhere and with someone else.

WE HOLD EACH OTHER UP.

Monique Gray Smith's You Hold Me Up (Orca Books Publishing) takes a widening look at the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child" a bit further, by showing what it takes to make a village, a community in which members survive and thrive. Although the author has native American roots, what it takes to keep a family and a community alive are the same everywhere. Artist Danielle Daniels' charming gouache, pencil, and acrylic illustrations portray Indian families and yet convey an intimacy and trust that is universal, reaffirming that all humans need mutual support. A warm, heartfelt book, great for lapsit storytime and small group reading aloud.

Says Kirkus Reviews "...words and art offer a warm and positive message. Calming, positive, and serenely affirmative."