Somewhere In The World Right Now by Stacey Schuett
As of the writing of this post (late in the evening of the sixth day of March), D has 13 books waiting to be picked up at the library. We are very close to the limit of 50 books that can be borrowed at a given time. Which also means that it has become nearly impossible to get in and out of D’s bed without tripping over the piles of books that have burst forth from the shelves to inhabit the carpet. Which means it is time to think of returning a few (unless fate forces our hand by having a hold placed on any of the books currently in our home). Which also means I need to step up my game and post more often on the blog before the books are returned … So for now, I am going to be like the tree that shakes off the winter snow from its boughs and sprouts new fluorescent green leaves almost overnight. I rise from my hibernation!
Somewhere in the world right now by Stacey Schuett is a marvellous book for a child like D who has familial connections with many far-flung places in the world. The tale begins in the dead of the night in London, UK, traverses the witching hour and beyond in Africa, arrives at India at the break of dawn, hops into Siberia and Australia towards noon, loops back to Alaska and California in the evening, coaxes the sun to set over Yucatan, glides over rush-hour traffic in Chicago, past dinnertime in Guatemala and Honduras, and lands in EST-land at bedtime where a child falls asleep, her head full of stories and dreams.
The images in the book are of dark hues, which render them alluring and mysterious to my untrained eye. The words flow like poetry. Sitting in front of the fireplace in our home in Canada, I look at the Schuett’s portrayal of India with immense fondness, thirsting for every tiny detail, the cow, the rooster, the stray dog, the peacock, the clotheslines on the rooftops, an orange sun rising from behind distant mountains … all my memories of a place that really only existed in my head. D knows his grandparents reside in India … and we wonder when we’ll manage to take him for a visit. Although this morning, he did ask me when his cousin (my dearest niece) from California is coming up for a visit. Hopefully, this summer.
In mid-day Siberia, a carpenter is hard at work while a dog runs off with his lunch. D feels upset about this, and I find myself unable to explain why we wouldn’t fault a dog for doing so but we ourselves shouldn’t snatch things.
The world map on the endpaper is a source of endless fascination too. D can very easily spot Australia on the map, haha! And that reminds me … I haven’t yet talked to him about the oceans! I think the prospect of learning everything all over again alongside D as he goes through the motions of schooling brings me immense joy. There is so much beauty in the world … and all it takes to remember this is a single view through the lens of a child’s eye.
