A few months into Jeffers's newfound parenthood, he was suddenly exposed to what he describes as some "weird political times." Like many parents around the country, Jeffers was struggling with how he would eventually explain the bizarre presidential election cycle, filled with antagonism and unkindness, to his son. And like many concerned citizens, Jeffers, who had always enjoyed a large social presence online yet never felt like it was his place to comment on politics, started to feel an overwhelming urge to speak up. "I tried to only comment on something if there was a degree of positivity to it rather than just adding to the noise and the frustration and anger," he explains.
That sense of unity is ultimately what Jeffers is trying to remind all of us in Here We Are. "It can be quite a dangerous thing when people stop listening," Jeffers says of these polarizing times. Perhaps the key to fixing the divisiveness is to speak to those people who still know how to listen: our children.
Oliver Jeffers will be reading from Here We Are at Strand bookstore in New York City on Thursday, November 9.