Apart, Together
Author: Linda Booth Sweeney
Illustrator: Ariel Rutland
Published October 17th, 2023 by Balzer & Bray
Summary: This bold, surprising picture book demonstrates the magic of everyday transformations (and introduces cause-and-effect) for the youngest readers.
What happens when 1+1 equals . . . something other than 2?
Apart, blue is blue and yellow is yellow . . . but together they make green. Bees and flowers together make honey. Soap and water become foam!
With playful art and a simple, lyrical structure, this picture book is a delightful read-aloud and the perfect way to talk about all the wonderful ways that, so often, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
About the Author: Linda Booth Sweeney is a writer, educator, game maker, and trampoline jumper who writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Her picture books include Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial, When the Snow Falls, and When the Wind Blows. She lives in Boston, MA. You can visit her online at lindaboothsweeney.com.
Review and Tools for Navigation: This picture book seems simplistic, but its underlying lessons are so much more complex than at first glass. The book’s creators definitely have created something that is accessible for so many ages of readers and will lend itself to read alouds and lessons.
This text has so many discussion opportunities. It looks at cause & effect; science including animals, plants, & pollination; primary/secondary colors; team work; and baking! It is also a wonderful mentor text for students to create their own apart & together spreads, including illustrations.
Discussion Questions:
- What other items can you think of that are different when they are apart versus when they are together?
- How are some apart, together examples, like the soccer one, different than the others, like the paint one?
- What other colors combine to make another?
- What else do bees and flowers combine to make?
- What else do seed, soil, sun, & water combine to make?
- What else do flour, eggs, & sugar combine to make?
- What else do bricks & blocks combine to make?
- What else can players combine to do?
- What else do soap, hands, & water combine to make?
- What else do twigs, feathers, & love combine to make?
Flagged Spreads:
Read This If You Love: Simplistic picture books that teach big lessons
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Spark Point Studio for providing a copy for review!**
Thank you for this very thoughtful review Kellee! You really “get” what this book is all about. I’ll be sharing this with all the early childhood educators and children’s librarians that I know. — Linda