ALL OF A SUDDEN
AND FOREVER
Help and Healing After
the Oklahoma City Bombing
by
CHRIS BARTON
Illustrated by Nicole Xu
Children's Picture Book / Nonfiction / Healing / History
Reading age : 7 - 11 years
Carolrhoda Books
40 pages
Publication Date: February 4. 2020
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FROM THE TBR PILE. I've been a Chris Barton fan for a long time. He's a gifted author (my favorites are What Do You Do with a Voice Like That and Glitter Everywhere!) and engaging speaker, and an amazing advocate for libraries and readers' rights. I subscribe to his outstanding newsletter, and one feature of that is regular giveaways. I was lucky enough to win autographed copies of Barton's All of a Sudden and Forever, Manatee Summer by Evan Griffith, and Wintergarden by Janet Fox in the August, 2024 contest.
I remember ALL OF A SUDDEN AND FOREVER being released around the 25th anniversary of the bombing, and I remember thinking, "How in the world do you write a children's book about that?" Now I know.
ABOUT THE BOOK: A profoundly moving nonfiction picture book about tragedy, hope, and healing from award-winning author Chris Barton.
Sometimes bad things happen, and you have to tell everyone. Sometimes terrible things happen, and everybody knows. On April 19, 1995, something terrible happened in Oklahoma City: a bomb exploded, and people were hurt and killed. But that was not the end of the story.
Those who survived—and those who were forever changed—shared their stories and began to heal. Near the site of the bomb blast, an American elm tree began to heal as well. People took care of the tree just as they took care of each other. The tree and its seedlings now offer solace to people around the world grappling with tragedy and loss.
Released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, this book commemorates what was lost and offers hope for the future.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: Bank Street College of Education, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Evanston Public Library, Fuse #8 Production, Kirkus Reviews, Los Angeles Public Library, Only Picture Books, School Library Journal, Waking Brain Cells, and Writers’ League of Texas.
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: This past Saturday, April 19, 2025, marked thirty years since the Oklahoma City bombing, which is the subject of Chris Barton's ALL OF A SUDDEN AND FOREVER. I was still teaching junior high and remember the day very well. I turned on NPR, and as the reports were coming in, I recall the near desperate urge to leave work to get to and hold my then nine-month-old baby. As more and more information was released, the magnitude of the event and loss of lives coupled with the reality of domestic terrorism was almost more than my young-mother's heart could take. Sadly, since then, my mother's heart has had to endure one heartache after another as incidents that should be unimaginable have struck our nation. But still, I remember and I share the stories so they are never forgotten. And Barton's book helps that cause.
“Their stories would keep alive those they had lost. Those stories, told and retold, would make sure the past had a place in the present.”
Initially, I was not sure about who is the intended audience or how to use ALL OF A SUDDEN AND FOREVER. The point of the book is to remind us, all of us, to remember. And part of how
that happens is by telling the stories to our younglings. Any elementary aged kid or older is already aware of dangers that happen in our world – they do school drills for active shooters, after all. But Barton handles the topic with finesse. He writes intentionally, sensitively, and carefully, and I like that it’s left in the readers’ hands to decide if they want to learn more.
Barton's style of keeping things generic underscores to me that this is any person’s story and every person’s
story. Had Barton included more details, it could be too much for the youngest readers. Older readers will surely want more information, so I can see the book being a good springboard for additional research and discussions. He provides an Author’s Note, Illustrator’s Note, and
recommended reading and resources (an extended list can be found on his website).
Nicole Xu's multimedia illustrations keeps faces and places muted – a good move, I
think, coupled with how Barton refers to people vaguely. Xu uses somber colors, darker
at first, but as the story unfolds and the focus is on recovery, hope, and
survival, the colors lighten.
A recurring element in the story is the Survivor Tree. Its roots
continue to spread and feed the damaged tree that is above ground and its seedlings bring comfort and hope to people. This brought to mind the more recent tree that symbolizes hope, Lahaina's resilient banyan tree, a similar symbol of recovery and community. We hold each other up.
“And because of the stories so many of us have shared . .
.
We will remember the help so many needed.
We will remember the help so many received.
We will remember the help so many provided.
We will remember.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chris Barton is the award-winning author of picture books. He visits schools by the score and also loves speaking to professional gatherings of librarians, educators, and fellow writers. He's married to middle-grade/YA novelist Jennifer Ziegler, and they co-host the children’s literature video series “This One’s Dedicated to…” in which we talk with other authors and illustrators about the dedications they’ve written for their books.
They have four adult children and one dog and live in Austin where Chris serves as vice president of the Texas Institute of Letters, a 501(c)(3) non-profit honor society founded in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement.
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