An international look at children's rights, exploring global issues faced by children, encouraging compassion and empathy. Illustrated by award-winning illustrator Marc Martin.

When you were born, a song began…

So begins this lyrical and unique nonfiction picture book by award-winning children’s author Nicola Davies. With tenderness and heart, Nicola introduces young readers to the universal rights that every child is entitled to under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Using the metaphor of song, the book opens with the arrival of a newborn and its unique “song,” then pans out to explore all the essential things that every song needs to thrive—love, protection, a home, a name, the chance to explore and learn. In the latter half of the book, the issues of child labor, exploitation and war are sensitively introduced to emphasize that we all must play our part in championing children’s rights and offering support to those who need it most.

With deeply moving watercolor illustrations by award-winning artist Marc Martin, this is a book that encourages children and adults alike to speak up for young people all around the world, and to treat one another with compassion and kindness.

Crocodile Books, an imprint of Interlink Publishing, will donate 5% of the selling price of each book sold to The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, a human rights organization that advocates for the rights and best interests of immigrant children.

About The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights:

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a human rights organization that advocates for the rights and best interests of immigrant children. It protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and state and federal law. It is a champion for the rights and best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children, making sure that wherever they land, whether here in the U.S. or in their home country, they are safe.