There are many things you can tell children about where they came from. But do you ever wonder how your kids might explain it?
Halima Cassells, a Detroit artist and mom of three, did. And her young daughters' answers inspired a 34-page children's book, Where Did I Come From? It teems with colorful collage art and offers open-ended explanations.
"I wanted to find a way that my children could make some art that's meaningful together," says Cassells, whose daughters are Nele, 13, Nia-Rah, 6, and Nzinga, 4 months. I'm a firm believer that we come with a lot of wisdom encoded in us. Listening to the wisdom of babies and children is something we practice."
Her partner Bryce Detroit, an emcee, even produced a companion soundscape with Nia-Rah to go along with it.
"My hope is that parents and kids will really have more questions and have a deeper understanding that we embody everything and we are limitless and we are connected," Cassells says. "I want kids to know that they are heard."
Where Did I Come From? is available at Free Little Libraries in Detroit, on Amazon and for $11 at Detroit's KAN Books. Soundscape is $2 on detroitrecordings.com.
