ALL THAT YOU ARE

A small book of virtues and praise, in which greeting-card sentiment is transformed by the art into emotional mini-dramas. The text of this happy celebration resembles captions: “You are generous,” “You follow your dreams,” etc. Hubbard’s illustrations decorate these phrases in glowing blue, red, and green. A tiny girl dressed in yellow faces a crimson dragon in a dark room to demonstrate the concept of courage. The notion of forgiveness is all but spelled out as a boy hugs the leg of a weeping elephant, who has just crushed the boy’s bike under his big gray foot. The text would be inconsequential, but is instead complementary, extending and defining the action of the pictures until even the youngest child will feel embraced. The result is something more than a gift book, for nearly every occasion. (Picture book. 4-8)