Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community

by Susan Verde, John Parra (Illustrator)

One creative boy.
One bare, abandoned wall.
One BIG idea.

There is a wall in Ángel’s neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music, dancing, laughing. Not the wall. It is bleak. One boy decides to change that. But he can’t do it alone.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Storytime, Inspirational

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Susan Verde is a New York Times bestselling children’s author, children’s yoga and mindfulness expert, former teacher, and parent. By 2022 she will have more than 20 picture books in the marketplace. She is a highly sought after speaker at conferences, festivals, and schools across the nation, and spends half the year on the road working with children and families. Verde is a frequent contributor to online magazines and has appeared on multiple podcasts speaking about writing, parenting, mindfulness, and yoga. She lives in East Hampton, New York.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

What brings a community together? What makes a community proud? Susan Verde is exploring those questions in this story just a little from a child’s perspective. The children get to be the creative force. They are empowered.

There is a huge blue wall in the neighborhood, it’s not pretty or welcoming and people tend to ignore it. Until, a child decides it’s time to do something to beautify that wall so it will attract people. The kids come up with a plan and they paint a mural. Now the community gathers in pride around that wall. It’s a beginning book.

I do like the community theme, but for some reason, I wasn’t drawn into the story. It wasn’t personal enough for me. It felt like it was told far away or something. It’s a good story, but an average story.

The nephew didn’t care about some wall. Of course he thought this was boring. He gave this 2 stars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a HUGE fan of street art and murals. The way murals can change the feel and look of an area dazzles me! The colors jump off the walls to brighten your day. The images or words speak to you with heart and meaning. A piece can contain such raw power!

Hey, Wall by Susan Verde lets the reader in on one boy’s talk with a rundown community wall.

“No one looks up at you.
There is nothing to cheer for.
You are only lonely concrete.”

This young boy is an artist though. A changer and motivator! By bringing people together, he transforms the wall and whole community with color and life. He takes the wall back with art and stories!

A beautiful story about turning something negative into something uplifting and memorable.

Recommended read. Check it out!

[Ms. Arca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept, especially as a refocusing on positive ways that we can think about walls. This is an example of a positive wall and a positive example of community working together to create something they can all enjoy. I think I must be becoming a picture book snob because I found the writing/ storytelling to be just ok. That being said, I would read this with kids for the example of working together and getting them excited about an uplifting communal project.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The young narrator of this recent picture-book from author Susan Verde and illustrator John Parra addresses himself to the massive wall which dominates his neighborhood. Bare, blank, uncared-for, the wall feels cold and lonely to the boy. As he and his friends go about their lives, so full of fun and laughter, the wall is always there in the background. Finally, the boy enlists the entire community's help, in turning the wall into something beautiful - something that reflects who they are how they live their lives...

As the afterwords from author and illustrator make plain, the subject-matter of Hey Wall: A Story of Art and Community is one dear to its creators' hearts. Having not grown up in a neighborhood with murals, I don't have a deep emotional attachment to the subject matter myself, but I do feel that Verde and Parra do an excellent job communicating how meaningful such artwork can be, and how its creation can bring a community together. I found the text alternately matter-of-fact and poignant, in appealing ways, and thought the illustrations were lovely, capturing the vitality and sense of movement in an urban environment. Recommended to anyone looking for new children's stories about street art and/or community endeavors.

[Christine (Tina) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Public art made accessible for young children. Read this book with your children to allow them to ask questions and make proclamations of recognition the next time you visit a major city or an eclectic town. (We live in an area where we do not have to wander far to participate in public art displayed on all sorts of walls!)

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy and his neighbors work together to make a beautiful mural of neighborhood memories on an old wall. It’s a story of community spirit, and working together, and pride, and remembrance, of making something ugly into something beautiful.

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful book, one you'll want to refer back to throughout the year.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this picture book on building community, celebrating street art, empowering kids to use their voice, pride in their neighborhoods, and showing the value of coming together to support each other. The illustrations are fantastic. I'd pair with Last Stop on Market Street and Maybe Something Beautiful.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book about art, the artwork and pictures do the story themes justice. It would be interesting to pair with Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman and Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena for a discussion about kid-led activism and experiences in urban communities.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about neighbors coming together to make a wall a community canvas. Lovely illustrations by John Parra.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational, great for building community. Student-artits will love this one!

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/1/2018 ~ A celebration of community - making our home more beautiful. I also loved the child activism here.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book about kids creating street art. I loved that the author's note at the end of the book explained the difference between street art and graffiti.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this realistic fiction for Children's Books group, Sept. 2020. The author and illustrator are from NYC and southern California, according to interesting & helpful notes, but this could take place in any diverse and challenged sector. Well, except perhaps for the rooftop party... I've never lived where that was possible. Anyway, a lovely story about neighbors, especially children, coming together to create street art and to strengthen the ties of the community.

Btw I particularly liked the bit in the notes that explained the effective differences between street art and graffiti. And I appreciate that this is a book that can be appreciated by preschoolers and everyone older than that, whether child or adult.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel's neighborhood has fallen on hard times as one of the buildings has been abandoned, leaving an ugly concrete wall to blight the area's appearance. Angel and his friends focus on the delights of the neighborhood, barely noticing the wall as they play and wait for flowers to grow through the cracks in the sidewalk. After hearing his grandmother's stories about how the area once was attractive, Angel decides to do something about that wall. He gathers his art materials and those around him, and they paint a street mural featuring larger-than-life size individuals engaging in activities, scenes drawn from everyday life. The final double-page spread shows the mural and how it has revitalized the area with a movie theater open for business and various vendors on the street. Not only do I love the idea that one person--in this case, a boy with paints and a desire to make something positive happen--can make a difference, but I also love that the change is wrought through art. Created with acrylics, the illustrations are filled with life, and the bleak wall becomes a canvas for self-expression and inspiration. Perhaps, after all, what matters is what someone sees when he/she approaches that wall. Is it something depressing that adds to the depressing neighborhood or is it a blank page on which something wonderful can bloom? This would be a good read aloud to highlight that concept or to serve as a simple example of how change can occur.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book tells the story of a large, blank wall and a boy who sees the possibilities in it. The wall is cold and empty, ignored. People walk past, skateboard by. In the winter, dirty snow is shoveled up against it. Though flowers poke up through the sidewalk, they don’t visit the wall. Then the boy decides to change things. He and his friends come together to create a plan for the wall that with a lot of creativity and hard work becomes a new mural that reflects all of the action in the community around it.

Verde uses the feeling of free verse and spoken word here. It works particularly well with the urban setting. In the story she shows the importance of art, both street art like community murals and art that comes from children and communities. In today’s world, there can’t be a picture book simply about a wall. This book shows that walls can be more than dividers, instead bringing a community together.

Parra’s illustrations have a great organic quality to them, filled with textures. He shows an urban community full of diversity and gatherings together. There is a folk art aspect to his work that translates beautifully into the mural the children create.

A picture book about walls that bring us closer to one another and the power of art to create community. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, Wall : A story of Art and Community by Susan Verde, illustrated by John Para, PICTURE BOOK Simon and Schuster, 201.8 $18. 9781481453134

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

There is a large wall in the neighborhood - as big as a city block. Life goes on around it, but it stays the same. One day, a boy decides to turn the wall into a mural - something that tells everyone about who they are and what is special to them. But he can't do it alone!

I appreciate the author and illustrator's notes at the end - it helps to put the book in perspective. The way everyone avoided the wall at the beginning, I wondered what the wall had to do with all the glimpses of community life - they bought their ice cream and went far from the wall to eat it; they built their snowmen on other sidewalks; the wall can't dance? There are several great picture books about a community gathering together to improve by making art, this one just seemed too ordinary.

Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Verde and John Parra have collaborated to create this wonderful book to celebrate street art and artists. A young boy strolls through his streets, often by this worn out wall, calling "Hey, Wall" telling how no one looks at it anymore, once 'full of style', but now 'cold, old, empty.' He speaks of the community, shown wonderfully by John Parra: alive and happy all through the seasons, inside cooking and eating and laughing with love and joy. He asks the wall: "Can you hear our music? We are salsa dancing. We are hip-hopping." And he has an idea, gathers everyone with stories and sketches, and they paint that wall, telling the story of the diverse and alive community. It's a call to action, and the letters from both Verde and Parra pay tribute to other cities they've known with vibrant art to see "outdoors"!

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storytime theme: Community, Change, Imagination, etc...

One creative boy.
One bare, abandoned wall.
One BIG idea.

A boy takes on a community art project in order to make his neighborhood more beautiful in this empowering and inspiring picture book by Susan Verde, stunningly illustrated by award-winning artist John Parra.

There is a wall in Ángel's neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music, dancing, laughing. Not the wall. It is bleak. One boy decides to change that. But he can't do it alone. Told in elegant verse by Susan Verde and vibrantly illustrated by John Parra, this inspiring picture book celebrates the power of art to tell a story and bring a community together.

[Tabatha Krieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The neighborhood is full of friends, music, food, dancing, memories, and joy. The ugly, crumbling, brick wall is gloom. But one boy has a plan to change all that. He dreams and draws and then, with the help of the whole neighborhood, transforms the wall into a magnificent piece of art; now a true reflection of their collective home.

I thought the message of coming together to make something beautiful in your community was inspiring.


happilyeverreading.com

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a chance to read a F & G copy of this picture book through my #bookexpedition group.

Inspiring story that celebrates the way art can give kids a voice, bring a community together, and feel pride in their neighborhood.

I appreciated the back matter from the author and illustrator, who both shared how street art has influenced them.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how one young boy restored a sense of pride to his community by convincing the people in the neighborhood to revive their forgotten memories by painting them on a wall. The mural painting brought the people together, and attention to the forgotten, and overlooked wall, bringing life to it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because this wall is very lonely and it looks very old so they dream things and they put them on the wall that they dream of. That's because he thinks the wall's so lonely and so lonely so they make friends, big ones, so they can see them very well. But if you're small people the wall can't see you very well. But if they're big people the wall can see you very well.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this story I felt the cadence and rhythm of a spoken word artist in the words. The illustrations and words come together to show the strong sense of community. The wall is an extension of the community and the youth take pride in their work. An inspiring and fun story with a lot to discover in the illustrations.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the chance to read this book at NErDCampMI. It is a lovely book about a boy working to improve the beauty of his neighborhood. Lovely illustrations and message that would pair nicely with Maybe Something Beautiful.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice way to introduce young ones to street art.

The small town the library is in, recently created street art on the of the local businesses that much needed an update on it's outside.

It catches my eye each time I drive by.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for art fans, with kids who decorate a lonely and abandoned wall in their city block. Kids enjoyed it.

The narrator talks to the wall, giving this book a unique POV.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of this book. Taking a big wall that was ignored and making it the story of the people. Transforming it into a mural. It's a beautiful idea, and I love when beautiful things like that occur. The illustrations are wonderful, but the writing didn't draw me in like other Verde books have.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one! The story of a neighborhood with an unsightly plain concrete wall. The grandmother remembers when the whole neighborhood used to be beautiful, including the wall. The main character is "a game changer, a wall changer"; they set out to inspire the neighborhood to paint the wall into something beautiful. In the end it is transformed into a wonderful representation of their vibrant and diverse community.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about community!