What Do You Love?
· A Picture Book ·
Happiness in two (hundred) words.
• • •
What Do You Love? A poetic story and picture book for children and adults everywhere.
Five young friends share what they most love in the world.
•
When I love, I take care.
What I love my be real or imagined. It may be felt by my body or spirit.
In this story, five friends take care of one another by sharing what they most love. They take time to listen, and by doing so, they love.
I may not love something or someone with the same force as my friend, but my being open to the nature of their love encourages me to better understand and appreciate them.
More than anything, I love kindness and compassion in others.
Those who care for their neighbours and the world lead rich lives where their spirits roam free, whatever struggles they encounter.
•
Making What Do You Love?
Words are unlike anything else I know. As I write words I think of them in my mind. This is very different than when I hear words spoken, or whispered.
When read silently, words are shaped by their meaning. When spoken out loud, words carry the weight of a person and reach beyond their initial idea. For the moment they are heard spoken, words become something sensed and 'real'.
Pictures are processed more quickly by the mind, more instinctively, than words. As I read the words that hover over the artworks, they provoke my imagination, thought, and emotions in new directions.
This story is presented in three ways. The first section uses a text style that combines the shapes of certain characters into a visually harmonious reading experience. The second way uses this same style of text with the addition of art. The third way is with text that is presented for those with visual impairment.
•
Like much of my work, What Do You Love? is political. It is a story about power and how it is used.
The title of the story asks the reader to question their own love. It asks the reader to consider those who harm. It asks the reader to consider the power others exert over five young friends, and the transformative power they each have.
Love is only made real by how we act.
. . .
READ THE PDF: What Do You Love?
. . .
. . .
When viewed on an Apple computer, and when the mouse hovers over the word 'friend' in the PDF, a link to create an event will appear. This is because the font uses ligatures that joins the letters 'e' and 'n', and Apple's system mistakenly notes 'fri' as short for Friday.
In Arabic, Friday (الجمعة al-jumʿah) refers to a congregation or gathering, and so I decided not to change this unexpected element.
. . .
The following draft artwork was eventually replaced by another that is perhaps easier on the eye, and potentially more appealing to a younger age group as well as adults.
