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Barton, Chris

All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing After the Oklahoma City Bombing

40 pp. | Carolrhoda | February, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5415-2669-3 $19.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Nicole Xu. Barton provides a sensitive and sober examination of the Oklahoma City bombing. "One April morning in 1995...there was a man with a big truck. He parked the truck in front of a big building in the middle of the city. He walked away. The bomb exploded. One hundred and sixty-eight people died." Three important themes emerge in the tragedy's aftermath: terrible, irreversible events will happen; people can help others work through their sadness; and hope can develop from despair. A damaged elm tree near the site endures, and as Oklahoma City victims continue to reach out to those affected by other tragedies, they distribute seedlings from this "Survivor Tree." The story does not end here; nor, as Barton indicates in plain, powerful language, will it ever end. Xu's art emphasizes the universality of the narrative, as she illustrates all individuals facelessly, allowing only their body language to reveal their feelings. Other tragedies will occur (dramatically and effectively represented in a shadowy black and gray double-page spread), but with the metaphor of the Survivor Tree's roots stretching out over many pages in the book, Barton promises that we will remember "the help so many needed..the help so many received [and]...the help so many provided." Appended with author and illustrator’s notes, brief biographies of individuals who were interviewed for the story, a bibliography of books about community strength, and internet resources.
Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

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