A playful exploration of the many things a wall can be. An afternoon in the playground introduces different kinds of walls: a brick wall to draw on with chalk, a water wall, and a climbing wall. What follows is a playful yet profound exploration of the many ways walls can divide us or bring us together. When one child is excluded from a game, another builds a castle to leave him out. When the builder declares the castle MINE, other kids feel alienated - but the builder becomes lonely, too, when the others have fun without him. The book ends with the optimism of a new start: friendship, forgiveness, and imagination give the wall new meaning. Told with short, simple lines of playful, rhyming text and loose line illustrations by internationally known artist Barroux, this book sparks questions with empathy, insight, and charm. It’s a timely tool for inquiry-based and social-emotional learning, sharing the important message that walls can unite or divide, depending on the choices we make. AGES: 4 to 8 AUTHOR: Previously an elementary school teacher, Dianne White has a master’s degree in Language and Literacy, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She now writes full time, and lives with her family in Gilbert, Arizona. Barroux lives in Paris, France, and has studied photography, art, sculpture, and architecture. His work has been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He believes that the world needs fewer walls and more trees. SELLING POINTS: . A book that expresses big ideas with few words . Introduces the concept of point of view, or looking at the world in different ways . Social-emotional learning resource for exploring feelings of inclusion and exclusion