Jason Gruhl

Everything Is Connected is a useful introduction to interdependence for children aged 4-8. The book, written by Jason Gruhl and illustrated by Ignasi Font, takes us on a whimsical tour through all the connections between every single thing in the universe—from people to blobfish to chairs and atoms.

In his author’s note in the book, Gruhl, a psychotherapist and founder of The Joshua School, a school for children with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities in Colorado, says the book was inspired by questions he encountered while working in education, such as, “Why should we care about a child in Pakistan, the Coral Reefs in Australia, or a cow in China?”

Gruhl intentionally chose not to explore how things are connected, instead allowing space for readers to explore deeper questions outside of reading time. The book serves as a helpful starting point for sparking contemplation and conversation about interdependence and compassion, and would be a worthy addition to bookshelves at home and in the classroom.

We have read this book several times to our students and they enjoy the images and find new details every time we read it. Sometimes we skip over one page about how we are connected to the bad things in the world, that page is a bit intense for some of the children and requires discussion, so be prepared. Other than that it is really a lovely book. –Noa Jones, Middle Way Education… (meer)