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One and Everything
Fine artist Sam Winston, cocreator of the New York Times best-selling A Child of Books , celebrates the power of stories and written languages—and the imperative to preserve them.Once there were many stories in the world. There were stories with sunsets and wonderful tales filled with fairies and dinosaurs. But one day, a story decided that it was the best, the most important story ever. It called itself the One and started to consume every other story it came across. The One ate stories made of seas and others full of dogs. Soon it seemed that the One was all there was . . . or was it? Inspired by the Endangered Alphabets project, aimed at preserving cultures by sharing their unique scripts, author-illustrator Sam Winston uses writing systems such as cuneiform and Canadian aboriginal, Egyptian hieroglyphs and ogham to illustrate this book in his signature typography-based style, using symbols and letters that have relayed the world’s stories over the centuries.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published November 3, 2022
122 people want to read
About the author
Sam Winston
10 books56 followersSam Winston is an author and artist. Primarily making artist books he also writes and illustrates picture books.
His first picture book - A Child of Books - reached number five on the New York Times bestsellers list and won the Bologna Ragazzi award as well as being shortlisted for The Irish Book of the year award and the Good Reads readers choice award. Within 6 months of publication it's been translated into 17 languages.
Winston has exhibited his work in museums and galleries around the world. Tate Britain, the British Library, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., MoMA NYC and Stanford University, among many others, all hold his artist’s books in their permanent collections.
He lives and works in London and thinks blunt words should be handled carefully.
His first picture book - A Child of Books - reached number five on the New York Times bestsellers list and won the Bologna Ragazzi award as well as being shortlisted for The Irish Book of the year award and the Good Reads readers choice award. Within 6 months of publication it's been translated into 17 languages.
Winston has exhibited his work in museums and galleries around the world. Tate Britain, the British Library, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., MoMA NYC and Stanford University, among many others, all hold his artist’s books in their permanent collections.
He lives and works in London and thinks blunt words should be handled carefully.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 29, 2022
5-stars based on the authors note and the incorporation of lost languages and the symbols. Amazing. The rest of the book was 3.5 stars for me
November 13, 2022
This book is a wonderful piece of art. It has hidden messages, an incredible assortment of languages and characters plus all the factual information behind those. It is a beautiful story and has significant depth and meaning that I'll be thinking about in the days to come.
November 4, 2024
(Yes I'm counting a picture book towards my reading goal lol) This is the most fascinating picture book I've ever read! So few words and illustrations, but so much meaning.
October 17, 2023
2 stars as a Children's Picture Book, 4 Stars including the 10 pages of endnotes
A bit cerebral for a picture book.
But I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in languages or the written word.
I am not surprised that Sam Winston's artwork has been exhibited in museums. His use of characters within simple shapes creates depth, movement, and intriguing patterns.
The last ten pages provide information on the history and development of different forms of written characters and languages. Each section relates to a page in "One and Everything" and offers fascinating details about that particular language or system of writing and could be a complete children's book on its own.
For example, the three paragraphs about Cherokee tell us about Sequoyah who recognized the value of a written language, and his daughter, Ayoka, who became the first Cherokee to be able to read in her own language. After creating and presenting his written language to their tribal council, Sequoyah and Ayoka were put to a test to prove they could truly read the written words.
A bit cerebral for a picture book.
But I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in languages or the written word.
I am not surprised that Sam Winston's artwork has been exhibited in museums. His use of characters within simple shapes creates depth, movement, and intriguing patterns.
The last ten pages provide information on the history and development of different forms of written characters and languages. Each section relates to a page in "One and Everything" and offers fascinating details about that particular language or system of writing and could be a complete children's book on its own.
For example, the three paragraphs about Cherokee tell us about Sequoyah who recognized the value of a written language, and his daughter, Ayoka, who became the first Cherokee to be able to read in her own language. After creating and presenting his written language to their tribal council, Sequoyah and Ayoka were put to a test to prove they could truly read the written words.
February 8, 2023
3 stars for content; I think it would be hard for a smaller child to follow without an adult explaining why languages have died, or evolved in certain ways. But the author message in the back is extraordinary! Well researched and thought out, and beautiful executed.
August 10, 2024
Although the story is simple (and worth sharing with younger audiences), I feel like the book as an object is best suited for older readers because of all the information it both discreetly (in the form of the images of text) and explicitly (in the info-dump at the end) delivers. A great book for word nerds and lovers of scripts, alphabets, and languages.
November 20, 2024
Fascinerende. Det er sandt. Enkel, men effektiv. Sart, smuk og lidt skræmmende.
December 2, 2022
Wow! I loved this and will pair it with so many book about writing, calligraphy, and just culture in general. This is definitely the gift book of 2023 and useful on so many levels.
December 29, 2022
3 stars for the story and 5 stars for the authors note/concept of the book, so I’m averaging this at 4 stars. I wish the author would have addressed how stories have been lost/stolen due to colonization and erasing histories/cultures. Seems like a missed opportunity.
October 16, 2024
I'm usually a hard sell on picture books that are this abstract, but this little fable about language diversity is spot-on, and the back matter is fascinating.
December 20, 2022
One and Everything is in a class of its own. Part fiction, part nonfiction. A 48 page picture book but for all ages, all humans. Art, language, history, culture. My mind is overwhelmed. Teacher alert; this one’s for you.
January 11, 2023
Wow! What an unbelievably fascinating book! That’s all I’m going to say. You should look it up and check it out and your local library.
March 22, 2025
Incredible. Clever, poignant, and innovative. Should be required reading for everyone. If we all approached language and culture this way, America would not be in the mess we are in…
January 16, 2025
Simply sublimely sensational.
January 28, 2023
When one story names himself as the One and Only, he eats up all the other stories until he's the only one left in existence. As he goes through his day, the stories within him blur together into darkness until one speaks up. It asks about different languages and stories until The One realizes he's a combination of everything. This turns him into all of the stories instead of just one.
ONE AND EVERYTHING is a nod to the impact the written language has had on our society and how it's magnified by technology. In the back of the book, there's more information on languages and the regions they're spoken. The illustrations hold alphabets from different cultures and blends them together like a magical compilation of tales.
Final Verdict: ONE AND EVERYTHING is both thought-provoking and educational. While teaching children about how many languages might be lost, it makes them think about how words can continue to shape our future. What story will your child tell?
ONE AND EVERYTHING is a nod to the impact the written language has had on our society and how it's magnified by technology. In the back of the book, there's more information on languages and the regions they're spoken. The illustrations hold alphabets from different cultures and blends them together like a magical compilation of tales.
Final Verdict: ONE AND EVERYTHING is both thought-provoking and educational. While teaching children about how many languages might be lost, it makes them think about how words can continue to shape our future. What story will your child tell?
January 12, 2023
What a cool picture book!
A very interesting introduction to the life and death of a language. The art is comprised of characters from 50 different scripts (as not every spoken language has a written one). Paying closer attention to the illustrations of the One, I saw "hidden" messages and that made for an even more immersive reading experience.
Again... what a cool picture book!
My favorite stuff, though, was the back matter: detailed histories of what we know about some of the featured languages, maps, and acknowledgements. I loved all the info behind the story.
Overall, such a unique reading experience.
A very interesting introduction to the life and death of a language. The art is comprised of characters from 50 different scripts (as not every spoken language has a written one). Paying closer attention to the illustrations of the One, I saw "hidden" messages and that made for an even more immersive reading experience.
Again... what a cool picture book!
My favorite stuff, though, was the back matter: detailed histories of what we know about some of the featured languages, maps, and acknowledgements. I loved all the info behind the story.
Overall, such a unique reading experience.
September 2, 2024
This is one of those picture books which are really for adults.
I read this in Summer, 2024, during the contentious US election cycle....
This is about greed, shelfishness, unwillingness to listen, with that ignorance.
Yet, in reading the Author's Note, this is a book about language, the expression of language
and the loss of languages.
Backmatter also includes a directory of some the characters that can be found in the book.
"A worrd becomes a seed."
~ Korean proverb
(I loved the stories that simply full of dogs. )
I read this in Summer, 2024, during the contentious US election cycle....
This is about greed, shelfishness, unwillingness to listen, with that ignorance.
Yet, in reading the Author's Note, this is a book about language, the expression of language
and the loss of languages.
Backmatter also includes a directory of some the characters that can be found in the book.
"A worrd becomes a seed."
~ Korean proverb
(I loved the stories that simply full of dogs. )
April 19, 2023
Colorful circles with what appear to be designs inside, but are actually words from a great variety of languages. Ten pages of backwater explain the various alphabets and a great number of languages. Most of this is beyond even middle school age readers. Would appeal to language researchers.
Intriguing.
Intriguing.
April 25, 2023
But why did the story think it was the only story? When it ate up the rest and became the only story, was it the only story because really it contained all the other stories? What would this book mean to a young reader? Why would a young reader find this interesting? The message within the story is unclear. Feels more like it's the author's love song to written script.
May 20, 2023
"Before long, the One and Only story was the last story in the world. In fact, this storybook you are reading now was probably the only other story left."
A beautiful and poignant book about the importance of the preservation of language and sharing stories told through a minimalist style.
A beautiful and poignant book about the importance of the preservation of language and sharing stories told through a minimalist style.
December 15, 2023
Y'all. This is incredible. Typography. Dead and dying languages. Colonization. Linguistic diversity. Amazing illustrations with actual use of many of the languages. The back matter here is comprehensive and fascinating. I want this one for myself.
September 12, 2025
This is one of those artistic and thoughtful picture book with a subtle but powerful message about language and the written word if you're open to it. Love the additional information shared at the end story. This can be enjoyed by both children and adult, my favorite type of picture book.
July 5, 2022
Note: I received a physical ARC of this book from the publisher at the 2022 ALA Annual conference.
December 8, 2022
Uniquely gorgeous and utterly stirring. A beautiful love letter to stories, linguistic diversity, and the necessity of keeping our endangered languages alive.
Read
January 12, 2023Abstract storytelling and art
January 29, 2023
Thought-provoking story about language and stories. Interesting back matter, too.
March 10, 2023
A book about endangered and extinct languages and also stories? Cool!
March 16, 2023
A very cool meta-story about story. I think this will be a fun choice to launch a unit on storytelling around the world. Lots to observe, think about and discuss!
November 29, 2023
Beautiful. A very important story for our world today. Thank you for this book.
May 7, 2024
A book that can be taken in many directions - one can think of language / religion / culture dominating and taking over.
Illustrations definitely need a deep perusal to get the depth out of them.
Illustrations definitely need a deep perusal to get the depth out of them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews