All by Himself?

A child spends the day building a castle with wooden blocks—all by himself! But was it really only his work that made his masterpiece possible?

What does it take to create something new? A whole lot of work—and a whole lot of people! The child may be the one to stack the building blocks. But someone had to transport the blocks, and someone had to carve the blocks from wood, and someone had to plant the tree that provided the wood for the blocks, and so on!

Written by National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold and gorgeously illustrated by Giselle Potter, this deceptively simple story reminds us that we are all connected—and that no one builds anything all by themselves.

Elana K. Arnold writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in creative writing/fiction from the University of California, Davis, where she has taught creative writing and adolescent literature. She is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writers’ conferences. She is the author of several acclaimed young adult novels including the Printz Honor book Damsel and National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made of, as well as her picture books All by Himself?, What Riley Wore, and An Ordinary Day. Currently, Elana is the caretaker of seven pets, only two of which have fur. She lives in Long Beach, California, and you can visit her at ElanaKArnold.com.

Giselle Potter has illustrated many books, including Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, an ALA-ALSC notable book; The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter, a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner; and Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey. She is the author and illustrator of Tell Me What to Dream About and This Is My Dollhouse—both inspired by her daughters—and The Year I Didn’t Go to School, about traveling through Italy with her parents’ puppet troupe when she was eight. Giselle also illustrates “Ties,” a weekly column in the Well section of The New York Times. She lives in Rosendale, New York, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com.