Everybody Has a Belly Button

Book excerpt: Everybody has a bellybutton, Everybody has a nose, Everybody has a mouth, Everybody has toes. Everybody has hair . . . Some have black or brown or blonde or red, Some have gray or silver on their head. The different colors all aglow . . . Make everybody special, like a rainbow. Everybody Has a Belly Button is a timeless and delightful book for babies and toddlers that teaches our youngest readers about skin color, equality, and equity in the same way we teach our babies to find their belly button, nose, eyes, and toes. Cerina Vincent's effortless rhymes and Zoi Hunter's digital watercolor designs illustrate that “every body” is the same. And the subtle differences in our bodies’ colors (eyes, hair, skin) is what makes us all beautiful and special, “like a rainbow.” Babies learn through rhyme—it boosts brain activity and early literacy—and Everybody Has a Belly Button starts the conversation about racial equality immediately while also tenderly pointing out their other tiny body parts.