What Shall We Tell You?

A much-needed poem of hope and love for children facing adversity due to bigotry, bullying, violence, or other causes.

This moving picture book from Black creators Wade Hudson and Tonya Engel empowers children ages 4-8 to face life’s challenges with courage and confidence.

“What shall we tell you / when our world / sometimes seems / dark and uninviting?”

What do we say to children when they encounter exclusion, hatred, or cruelty? In this poem, Wade Hudson uses a series of questions and answers to reassure children that despite the very real problems we sometimes face, “love, like cream in milk, / will rise to the top.”

Accompanied by Tonya Engel’s lush illustrations, Hudson sensitively delivers his message of hope, love, and inclusivity. He affirms that every child belongs, can be themselves, and is strengthened by kindness.Wade Hudson is the author of numerous books for children, including the memoir Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South, and is also the co-editor of the critically acclaimed collection Recognize!: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life. He and his wife Cheryl are frequent co-authors and the co-founders and publishers of Just Us Books, a company dedicated to publishing books geared toward Black children.

Tonya Engel is an award-winning artist and illustrator of more than 30 children’s books, many of which feature Black women in history. Her books include Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste, Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly, and Yaya and the Sea by Karen Good Marable, which was a 2024 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book. Tonya’s art can also be found on prints, greeting cards, and textiles.