Everybelly is an amusing, original look at bodies and the idea of home, narrated by an inquisitive youngster who stands tummy-high to their neighbors.
One summery day, a child and their mother join neighbors at a local pool. Readers are first introduced to Mama, whose belly was where the narrator "used to live... until I grew too big." The brown-skinned child wears a flowery long-sleeved swim shirt, pink bottoms, and a polka-dot swim cap, as they discuss their neighbors. "Vibhuti's in a band. They know how to keep a beat"; an unnamed neighbor has a shy belly and prefers "pigeons to people" (which the kid understands because, likewise, they prefer "jelly beans to broccoli"). Also presented are neighbors with tattoos, wrinkled bellies, insulin pumps, appendicitis scars, stretch marks, and bellies that "make great tables." The diverse cast speaks to this child's easy acceptance of all bellies, though they do profess themselves puzzled by "flat" ones: Why do people "work hard to keep their bellies flat" when they can fill them with "ice cream topped with jellybeans, donuts in sprinkles, har gow, gimbap..."?
Everybelly showcases a delightful parade of funny, sweet, and sometimes misunderstood moments. Thao Lam (One Giant Leap) consistently employs a child-centric point of view in language and in her lively, innovative cut-paper collage illustrations. Brimming with goodwill, the child's cheerful spin on everything they encounter creates a welcome place for readers to feel at home. Indeed, Mama's belly, where the child used to live, bookends the story: the book closes with the child resting atop Mama's belly, a place that "will always feel like home." --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author