Space for Everyone
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jan 21, 2025
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This lyrical and heartwarming picture book follows a Nigerian girl who worries about her family's upcoming move. But she soon realizes that no matter where they go, there will always be room at their kitchen table for her community to gather around.
When Zainab runs down the stairs in the morning, she knows what she'll find: Papa cooking at the stove, Mama pouring tea, and then everyone gathering around the family table. Neighbors stop by, and there's plenty of room for them, too. There are so many beloved rituals that happen at the table: homework and crafts, aunties coming to plait hair, and festive gatherings with neighbors and relatives. But soon boxes start piling up around the house, and Zainab worries about the move—will the rituals feel the same in her new home?
In the new house, the family table still feels cozy to sit around. And soon, old neighbors and new friends stop by, and everyone is welcome at the table. Meg Medina's Evelyn Del Ray is Moving Away meets Peter H. Reynolds's Our Table in this heartwarming story about how difficult it is to move, but how connecting with community makes everything better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wedlick (The Night Market) and Sucre (Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush) spotlight a welcoming family table in this bighearted tale. A family of five begins the day with breakfast at a large rectangular table. When neighbors stop by, the addition of more chairs creates a surface that's "stretched as far as it will go." After school, the object holds space for young Zainab and her mother to bond over mint tea, then becomes a place for four when it's time for homework and crafts. Later, relatives arrive, and as the house fills, "their table for four is a table for more." When it's time for Zainab's family to move, everyone gathers for a going-away party, during which "even more family and friends squeeze, squeeze, squeeze all around the family table" and beyond. And despite worries about the transition, family and old friends are soon joined by welcoming neighbors at the new house, and Zainab expresses gratitude: "Thank you, table, for always having space for everyone." Warm, cheerful artwork and stylized characters portrayed with brown skin populate cozy family scenes, while gentle prose makes room for everyone, no matter the group's size. Ages 4–8. Author's agent: Alice Fugate, Joy Harris Literary. Illustrator's agent: Helen Boyle, Pickled Ink.
