We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures
Grade 2–6—Proclaimed by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, these rights apply to every child and adult throughout the world. Amnesty International has taken the 30 articles that comprise the Declaration and simplified them in such a way that they are clear to elementary school students. Each right is illustrated by an international array of well-known artists. Some of the pictures are downright cozy, such as Bob Graham's peacefully sleeping child surrounded by toys for Article 12, "Nobody should try to harm our good name." It is followed by Alan Lee's somber pen-and-ink drawing of folded paper cranes that have come to grief on a barbed-wire fence. The text of Article 13 reads: "We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel abroad as we wish." Other artistic interpretations are provided by John Burningham, Niki Daly, Polly Dunbar, Jessica Souhami, and Satoshi Kitamura. This is an important book, best shared with children in a setting where discussion of both the rights and the illustrations is encouraged.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.