Book Review: All Are Welcome
“All Are Welcome” by Alaxandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Alexandra Penfold’s book, All Are Welcome is a favorite in my home. Whenever we borrow it from the library (which is often), my 5-year-old and 3-year-old have me read it to them multiple times a day. Suzanne Kaufman’s colorful illustrations are a delightful pair to Penfold’s narrative stating “all are welcome here,” no matter one’s appearance or background.
As the story is introduced, there is a paragraph explaining how this book is inspired by Kaufman’s daughters’ school, “where diversity and community are not just protected, but celebrated.” Through its fun-to-read rhythm and rhyme, All Are Welcome gives the reader a bird’s-eye view of a typical school day from sunup to sundown for students of all backgrounds at this particular school. The prose and illustrations combine to foster inclusivity and a sense of community as they highlight the students’ similarities and differences in a fun and light-hearted way.
All Are Welcome is an excellent book for any young reader! It would be perfect to read in a classroom, at home, or even at a library’s storytime. I would especially recommend reading it to kids aged 3 - 8. Teaching kids the importance of inclusion and the beauty of diversity from a young age is imperative to raising them to be kind and accepting. All Are Welcome is the perfect place to start!
Partner Profile: No One Left Behind
Their Story is Our Story and No One Left Behind (NOLB) joined forces in 2025 to launch the StoryShield program.
We spoke with Matthew Marcellus, Director of Communications with NOLB, and asked what the partnership with TSOS has meant for his organization and their Afghan clients.
Context with Layma
Social media presents us with an endless scroll of headlines and ‘hot takes’. What’s often missing is context. What is the history that led up to an event? Whose interests are served by a certain policy? What effects is that policy having on people’s lives? Layma Murtaza produces and hosts the video series “Context with Layma”, featured on Their Story is Our Story’s social media channels. We spoke to her about the context of her own life, as an Afghan-American and a professional in humanitarian aid, that led her to use storytelling to illuminate the personal and political context behind the headlines.
De-skilling and the Mental Health Effects Among Refugee Physicians
Discussions of physician workforce policy tend to organize themselves around numbers. Shortage projections, residency slot allocations, and licensing timelines dominate the literature, and for understandable reasons. More than 83 million people in the United States currently live in areas without sufficient access to a primary care physician, and projections suggest the country could face a shortage of as many as 120,000 physicians by 2030.