Belonging
Jeannie Baker
Belonging
Jeannie Baker
A powerful account of the reclamation of an urban landscape told wordlessly through fascinating, detailed collage artwork.
Observed through the window of a house, a city street gradually becomes a place to call home as the inhabitants begin to rescue their street by planting grass and trees in the empty spaces. Year by year, everything begins to blossom…
Told wordlessly and with stunning collage illustrations, Belonging explores the re-greening of the city and the role of community, the empowerment of people and the significance of children, family and neighbourhood in changing the urban environment for the better.
Review
Dani Solomon
Belonging begins with a beautiful collage view looking through a window into a front yard at a couple holding a baby. With each turn of the page, a year passes, and the view slowly changes in the most wonderful way. What starts with inner city suburbia – every spare space an ad, the graffiti of the discontent fracturing the dull greys of the cracked tired concrete – starts to gradually evolve: the cemented front yard becomes a lawn; the used car business across the road becomes an empty lot which eventually becomes a green, welcoming community space.
As an adult reading Belonging, I find peace in how it reflects the comfort of an organic community working together to make their space better, but as an anxious child I found Belonging felt good to read in ways I couldn’t articulate; I now know it’s the way it quietly shows its reader that big changes can be positive and calm. I would stare at this wordless picture book for hours, soaking it in, scrutinising every page for every change no matter how big or subtle; I didn’t want to miss a thing. I’d try to work out the mysteries of her magical collages and even tried to make my own! Belonging is a work of magic perfect for kids 3+.
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