A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 141

Picture Book: For Every Child: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Words and Pictures

Text Adapted by: Caroline Castle

Forward: Archbishop Desmond M. TuTu

Illustrators: Each double page spread has a different illustrator.

Summary: In 1989 the United Nations adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a document comprised of 54 principles. This picture book highlights the 14 most relevant principles for today’s international children. As a declaration of human rights, this book will inspire and dishearten your listeners for it will become clear that the rights of many children are forgotten and ignored. 

Hanna’s Comments: Now and then I run across a picture book that I must own. This is one of them. I urge you to consider designing a program that allows you to engage in conversation with your community of faith about the rights (and present day treatment) of children all over the world. As a Christian, there are few issues that so clearly speak directly to my faith. Jesus urged us to minister to the least of these. Despite his culture, Jesus took time to interact with children, heal children, and proclaim their great value. I know this value is shared by many other religions as well. Our news headlines are full of displaced families, children caught in the abyss of war, and children living in oppressive regimes or slave conditions. As a species, we can do better and must do better. It sounds clichéd, but they are our future.

There are two similar books that I would recommend. We are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures. All royalties for the sale of this book go to Amnesty International, the organization that is its author. The pages in the featured book as well as this book are illustrated by series of internationally respected artists. 

The other book I want to highlight is I Have the Right to Be a Child by Alain Serres with illustrations by Aurelia Fronty. This book takes the perspective of children who declare their rights in moving ways within the parameters of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It ends with details about this document and a list of the countries that are party to this document as of its publication, 2009. It troubles me that the United States of America is still not on this list.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Phyllis Fogelman Books in association with UNICEF, 2001

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 40

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: Two different videos are on Youtube.com that have this same subject but in different words. They are well produced and very inspiring.

PBT Category: Non-fiction

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: adoption, babies/children, caring/tending, care of creation, citizenship, civil rights, comfort, dependence/interdependence, disabilities/handicaps/limitation, diversity, Earth/world, education/learning/school, equality/inequality, ethics, family, freedom, growing up/growth, helping, healing/healthcare, home, humanity, identity/names, image of God, individuality/uniqueness, intercession, justice, land/mountains/soil, language/literacy/reading, nurturing, outreach, play, pleasing God/the Shema, protecting/protection, religious differences, respect, safety, safe place/sanctuary, security, violence, vision, war/war veterans

Scripture Connections: Whoever welcomes a little child welcomes me (Matthew 18:5); Jesus said, ”Let the children come to me” (Matthew 19:13); the least of these (Matthew 25)

Idea(s) for Application: Consider using this book in a program for children or youth in which you talk about the ways children in various circumstances around the world are not secure in their human rights. Then talk about how your faith community is engaged in efforts to improve these situations.