The Museum of Everything: A Picture Book About Imagination and Exploration for Kids

by Lynne Rae Perkins

Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins invites readers on an imagination-fueled journey through the living museum that surrounds us all. Luminous, in-the-moment, and full of wonder, The Museum of Everything inspires readers to slow down and appreciate the world. For fans of What Do You Do with an Idea?, The Most Magnificent Thing, and classics such as Time of Wonder and A Hole Is to Dig. A spectacular picture book illustrated with dioramas, collages, and three-dimensional paintings.

When a young girl feels that the world is too big and loud and busy and distracting, she pretends that she’s in a museum. It’s quiet there, and she can wonder about everything: Is a rock in a puddle an island? Is a dry spot on the ground on a rainy day the shadow of a car that’s just driven off? There’s a museum for everything—for islands and shadows and clouds and trees, and so much more.

Newbery Medalist and acclaimed picture book creator Lynne Rae Perkins balances imagination and creativity with curiosity and facts. She has created the extraordinary artwork in three dimensions—as if each page is an exhibit or installation in a museum. A transcendent and timely picture book, The Museum of Everything encourages young readers to wonder, dream, and explore—and to learn more about the world around them.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Museums, Nature, Fiction, Collections

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 11, 2021

About the author

Lynne Rae Perkins is the author of several novels, including her most recent Newbery Award winning book, Criss Cross. She enjoys working in her studio, being with friends, watching her kids grow, and watching her husband, Bill, chase their dog around town.

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

At its simplest, a museum is a collection of things. What would you create a museum of? This is the story of the ideas that one child has.
Use this book to encourage the children in your life to daydream, ponder, and use their imaginations.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable. I love it!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very odd, but also very creative. I loved the collage illustrations and paintings, some of which have ghostly images drawn over them. A few objects appear more than once: the paper bush in the bush garden appears on the windowsill collection of small things; the door on the title page is the same as the door at the end; and the chair in which a child sits examining a seashell is the same chair as in the birthday party diorama. Unique and unusual.

[Erin]

Not so much a story, but a long afternoon with nothing to do. Or rather, an afternoon with plenty of loud stuff to do, but our main character needs a break: a quiet time to just sit and think alone. This is an ode to contemplating the little bits. While big picture thinking is great, sometimes you need to focus in on the small stuff, observe it, and celebrate it. The illustrations continued to draw my eye -- I did not love them, but I also could not stop looking at them. They are full of detail, full of small things that make you think about the larger things they came from. The ribbons, twigs, ends of curtains.

What would I put in a Museum of Everything? I think I would include a room with all the items used to hold people's places in books. And a room dedicated to celebrating the tiniest kindnesses (like giving someone a tissue to borrow, or a listening ear). And maybe an exhibit on dirt or seeds.

Note: Lynne Rae Perkins is from Michigan.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the musings of a young girl with an expansive imagination. It’s a bit stream of consciousness, but I didn’t mind wandering through the child’s wondering with her. An island in a pond on an island in a lake… Shadows of things you know and shadows in between street lights… The Sky Museum and The Museum of Little Things! I can’t wait to ask the first graders I read to each week about the museums in their minds.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ready to be wowed by multiple starred reviews in journals, but the unique illustrations/artwork did not appeal to me. Not a good fit for my library. Not sure who will appreciate it best. A bit deep/contemplative for K-3. Maybe grade 4-5 teacher read aloud? Adults will like this more than kids.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read several picture books lately that center on "Wonder". As we strive to include more inquiry in our classrooms, these can be helpful. I wanted to really love this book--- I'm drawn to collage and 3D
illustrations. This book got a bit deep, and may be a hard sell to the intended audience. But worth the read for the illustrations and to pique the imagination.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars -- I enjoyed the gentle surrealism of this book. It's all about imagination and whimsy, and appreciating the small and quiet things in the world around us.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful story that encourages children to be curious.

[Sara Cook]

Interesting illustrations add to the reminder to slow down and look at what's around us.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially love the stream of consciousness of this book.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the sentiment of this book - encouraging young people to really notice the world around them, PARTICULARLY the small things - but I wasn't wild about the mixed-media artwork.



This may resonate with older children, but I see the younger ones squirming.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the world gets too busy and big, you can look at the smaller pieces around you. You can put those things in a quiet place like a museum in your mind. Or maybe it could be a real museum. It could have things like a Museum of Islands because there are so many kinds and sizes. A Museum of Bushes could have skirts made out of different bushes and then real bushes too. A Museum of Shadows could have usual shadows but also ones that you don’t expect. The Sky Museum is already right over your head, ready to be seen every day. All these small pieces fit together in one large puzzle, creating the Museum of Everything all around us all the time.

Newbery Medalist Perkins has created a picture book exploration of imagination that invites readers to look around themselves and see the elements that are worthy of placement in their own museums of everything. She takes expansive ideas and turns them firm and real with her examples given through the perspective of the child narrator of the book. The result are charming stories of bushes, hiding places, shadows and much more. The everyday is turned amazing.

Her illustrations are done in a wide variety of media. Some pages are done in collage, the paper elements overlapping into a layered world. Other pages are filled with objects that celebrate bushes and hidden places. These are 3 dimensional dioramas or sculptures that draw readers right into them.

Celebrating the extraordinary ordinary, this picture book is a lesson in imagination and creativity. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Carol V · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Museum of Everything looks at things on this earth and beyond through the minds of a child. The story begins, “When the world gets too bug and too loud and too busy, I like to look at little pieces of it, one at a time.” The author ends the story by saying these little pieces all fit together, like the biggest puzzle ever or like notes to a song or like a museum of everything.

This book is a visual exploration of what makes our world special. The author collects, compares, and questions what is there to see, if we will slow down and look. The author / illustrator used cut and / or folded paper, sand, stones, twigs, wood, moss, wool, foamcore board, fabric, embroidery thread, modeling clay, lights, sculptures, and many other odds and ends to illustrate this story.

Using one’s imagination is healthy. Take a macro look at the world and you will be amazed at what is there for your eyes and mind to enjoy. It’s like having your own museum of everything!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful picture book invites readers to be imaginative and thoughtful about the details that comprise their surroundings. "When the world gets too big and too loud and too busy, I like to look at little pieces of it, one at a time." So begins this tour of the narrator's world in the quiet place of the mind, with museum-like presentations.
After organizing small details of the world into such unique displays as kinds of islands, bushes, hiding places, and shadows, the narrator is refreshed to enter again the big loud and busy world.
Multiple applications present themselves--art projects, writing starters, SEL discussions of coping strategies, preparing for a field trip to a museum--as well as marveling at the "little pieces" that make up the world.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This book is about a person who lives in a bustling city and they need to find a quiet space. They will find an object and set it up on it's own like a museum and just study it. Then we see their imagination take place.

The book is about seeing things through different angles and perspectives. We take the world for granted and this book helps give us a new vantage point, like standing on a desk and seeing the room fresh and new.

I enjoyed this. The artwork is watercolor and then she took all sorts of real things and folded paper and anything to play with to make this artwork. It's very unique and this should have been considered for the Caldecott. It's so unique.

Any kind interested in artwork or being an artist will enjoy this.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a lot of uncanny valley-type feelings—is that an illustration or does it actually exist? This left me uncomfortable, but also intrigued. But mostly uncomfortable.

The concept was so very good, a five-star concept, especially the Museum of Hiding Things page and the Museum of Shadows. But the uncanny valley feelings outweighed the concept. I might page through it again and see if my feelings have changed.

Read for Librarian Book Group

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the message behind the creative mixed media illustrations (I love the spread with the dollhouse-like room and the twirling skirts), but it was impossible to keep my 7- and 4-year-old's attention past the first three pages. The museum concept is a sweet one, but wasn't a powerful enough thread to help the stream-of-consciousness of the "everything" ideas stay together. A 2022 Caldecott contender.

[Eija]

I always love books that can lead to an exploration at home or provide the framework for kids to explore and think about their world and what they notice. This does a lovely job of that and I think the mixed media illustrations helps to encourage kids to make that leap from the book to their own artwork in making a museum of everything.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kind of philosophical wondering about all sorts of things and interesting questions.
If you're walking at night between two street lights and you are between them, are you in 0% shadow (you have none) or 100% shadow.

Are we on a giant island that has lakes with islands that have ponds with islands, etc.

[Maeve · Rating 1 out of 5]

A young child finds solace in the busy world by contemplating different types of museums: of things the child wonders about, of islands, of skirts, of hiding places, etc.

A meandering story and a mix of multimedia illustrations. Not sure who would be the ideal audience for this book: a little too abstract for young children; and the illustrations aren't sophisticated enough for older children.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a moment to look at the world around you and be fascinated. That's exactly what comes to mind when I read this book. Could encourage great discussion in the classrom.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Houn A · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the concept of the book, but the rambling narrative was not easy to follow and did not hold my 4 year old's interest. After the first part with the islands, I asked out loud, "is the whole book like this?" We skimmed through and skipped right to the end. I can't imagine if I had to read this every night. Might be good for an older child to read independently.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An evocative picture book about a child who daydreams about creating different museums: Museum of Things I Wonder About; Museum of Hiding Places; Museum of Little Things; and more. The imaginative and thought provoking text and illustrations will make this an inspiring book to use for creative writing exercises.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing and very personal, introvert-ish book about the kind of things a child might wonder about and choose to put in their museum of everything. I can see this being a great anchor text for a unit on imagination and curation.what is and isn’t worthy of including in a museum.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to read to a very imaginative child -- might be a bit much for a regular read-aloud. But, it poses an interesting question of things you come upon with a child -- and what museum they might categorize the discoveries in...

[Lindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynne Rae Perkins (who can apparently do no wrong) illustrates and narrates this ode to finding and honoring the wonder that is life. At the end, she comments that building out these charming vignettes was the best job ever, and her joy shows.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting and charming book! Most intriguing illustrations since Wiesner's The Three pigs.
It invites readers to think of what they'd like to add to the museum and/or the kind of museum they would have. The Mock Caldecott Club may be on the something with this one.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

What?! This is weird and cool and philosophical and wonderful. The tiny 3D trees making shadows with blossoms and leaves! This is like a trip through a psychedelic doll house thinking about the meaning, shape, and potential of all the items. I can't wait to share this with kids.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore the concept and the tiny museum artworks. But I don't love the interstitial watercolors. One star docked for them. Will see what my students have to say when we discuss the illustrations for Mock Caldecott.