WOW Recommends: Awe! It's Everywhere!
Awe is an emotion that can happen when we perceive something much larger than ourselves like the fin of whale's tail splashing into the ocean as you feel the spray of water on your face! It implies a deep mix of wonder, respect and even at times a tinge of fear. Awe can be a form of wonder when you encounter great beauty or tremendous size. Awe can take the form of respect like the reverence you have for a place of worship, elders in your community or an heirloom passed down through time. When awe is accompanied by fear, it may come about when looking over the edge of a high building in New York City or looking out into the Grand Canyon. In all these experiences, one may encounter the emotion of awe.
Awe! It's Everywhere! written by Chana Stiefle and illustrated by Susan Gal is an opportunity for young readers to explore the concept of Awe. The sensation of awe begins even before the title page. As soon as the reader opens the book to the endpapers, they are pulled into the vastness and dangers of the sea, venturing out in small kayaks and encountering whales. Awe is introduced as "An Awesome, Wondrous, Empowering emotion! Most of the examples throughout the book come from nature themed awe instances across many different terrains, but awe is also identified as any idea or experience that "wakes you, shakes you, calls you to create."
This beautifully written and illustrated book invites parents, teachers and librarians to slow down and engage reflectively with the text and allow the text and pictures to speak for themselves when shared as a read aloud. It's not a bouncy book – it's a calm and reflective text which is perfect for bedtime at home or a time to settle in calmly in the classroom. I have gifted this book to several parents of newborns as a selection to read often, to inspire the language of awe for their babies and for themselves!
The books format provides an additional way to show the effect of awe such as through the rotated pages and the use of gatefolds where one double-spread page folded inward opens to reveal the big and beautiful awe of a canyon. Gal's bold and rich colors for the illustrations were created in lush layers of pencil, ink and watercolor and assembled digitally. The illustrations support the mood of calmness throughout and provide a sense of comfort. The characters represented throughout the book vary in their abilities, skin tones, cultures and ways of expressing spiritual beliefs providing inclusivity.
I really was drawn to the concluding notes by the author and illustrator. Their research on this topic examined the impact of how awe has the "power to change the way you think and feel." They describe the positive impact awe can have on your social emotional well-being, your creativity and through acts of kindness in our world, without it being too preachy. This is a much-needed book for this moment in time. The concluding pages also include philosophical quotes about awe and scientific facts; it also provides links to other resources on awe.
Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal are the award-winning team that have also collaborated on The Tower of Life: How Yafa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs (2022) which won the Sydney Taylor book Award and Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. Some of Stiefel's other selections are How Rude (2025), Let's Fly (2025) and Bravo Avocado (2023).
If looking for additional books that inspire awe and wonder, consider these selections:
- Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la papa by Sara Fajardo and Juana Martinez-Neal (illus), 2025. A Peruvian scientist is in awe of wild potatoes, believing they have the potential to change the world.
- Into the Wilderness by Haven Iverson and August Zhang (illus), 2026. Every summer a family goes into the wilderness where they wonder and feel brave, strong and part of creation.
- Where Wonder Grows by Xelena Gonzalez and Adriana M. Garcia (illus), 2022. A grandmother shares the beauty and mysteries of various rocks and shells with her granddaughters.
--Recommended by: Kathleen Crawford-McKinney
Title: Awe! It's Everywhere!
Author: Chana Stiefel
Illustrator: Susan Gal
ISBN: 9781546150350
PubDate: March 3, 2026
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Each month a committee of Worlds of Words advisors recommends a book published within the last year. Our hope is to spark conversations on our website and on social media about the book that expand global understandings and perceptions. Please join us by leaving a comment. You can also share your thoughts with us by using the hashtag #WOWRecommends on social media.
