Visiting You: A Journey of Love

Description

Setting out to visit their loved one, a child curiously asks a fellow commuter, 'Who are you going to visit?', and in answer to this simple question, the child learns about the love and loss in the life of a stranger. A father who lives apart from his small daughter, a husband who has lost his wife, a granddaughter who is forgotten by her grandfather, and a mother who fears for her son's recovery. After each conversation, the child understands that the other commuter has someone in their life that they love 'as much as I love you', and it is this understanding that allows the child to explore the most universal of human experiences: the power of love in the many different forms that it can take. Visiting You also explores a sense of community. Under her mother's supervision, a young child reaches out and connects with the people around them; they're not scared of strangers, or people who might 'look' scary, or people who are different to them. Sometimes it can take conscious decision and determination to look past outward appearances. Visiting You encourages us to find the similarities between people instead of focusing on differences, to recognise some part of ourselves in the life of a stranger.

Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg is a librarian, children's author and general book enthusiast. She would happily spend a year's salary in a good book store. Andrea Edmonds is an artist and illustrator who has worked on children's books, greeting cards, stationery, commissioned artworks and animation.

"The gentle balance of colour and emotion reveal memories and the child's growing understanding that he need not fear strangers who appear gruff and scruffy, different and intimidating. That beneath the obvious differences of a person, there often dwells a story worth sharing and a reason to love. This is a mighty concept to grasp in our modern day world ... it promotes a phenomenal sense of humanity, of not judging a book by its cover." "The common theme among all the memories and relationships is the element of love and longing for those we love when we're apart; and how sharing and basking in memories can make us feel connected with those we long to have near." "Looks at differences with compassionate eyes." * Educating Young Children *