Yours, Mine, Ours: A Celebration of Service and Community

I reached out to Bethany to invite her to be Children’s Book Corner’s first featured guest of the 2025-26 school year because Yours, Mine, Ours seems to be an ideal read-aloud choice to usher in a new school year and establish a positive, thriving classroom community grounded in kindness, service, and connection.

Judy Bradbury: Tell us about this project: What seeded its creation? How did you conceive of the theme/focus of Yours, Mine, Ours: A Celebration of Service and Community?

Bethany Hegedus: The seed for Yours, Mine, Ours was planted years ago when I co-wrote Grandfather Gandhi with Arun Gandhi, and as we brought his life’s work to younger readers with our first Candlewick title: You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community. That work deepened my understanding of Mahatma Gandhi’s belief in seva—service—as a way of life. Service isn’t only grand gestures; it’s everyday actions that knit us closer together. That, plus seeing the work of Maria Montessori and the overlap and influence both she and the Mahatma had on one another was another seed.

With Yours, Mine, Ours, I wanted to celebrate that idea: that caring for one another—whether through community helpers, volunteers, or small kindnesses—is what turns “yours” and “mine” into “ours.” It’s both a tribute to those who serve and an invitation for young readers to see themselves as part of building a more connected, compassionate world.

JB: Tell us about your collaboration with co-author Arun Gandhi.

BH: Working with Arun Gandhi on Grandfather Gandhi was life-changing for me. I still remember sitting with him as he shared stories of growing up in Sevagram Ashram with his grandfather. He spoke with such openness—about both the wisdom and the challenges of being the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi—that I often felt I was being entrusted with a living piece of history.

Over our twenty-year collaboration, turned friendship, we also got to know one another on a deeply personal level. Arun stayed in our home many times, and we travelled together in support of books, visiting schools and book festivals. I met his son, email often with his daughter, and my son’s middle name is after Arun, as he became like an extended family member. My husband is from Lucknow, India and he has a good laugh that his American wife brought this deep connection to such a monumental figure in world history.

Arun Gandhi with Bethany’s son

JB: How does this picture book relate to its companion, You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community?

BH: Yours, Mine, Ours is a natural companion to You, Me, We. Both are brought to life by illustrator Andrés Landazábal, whose luminous, heart-filled art perfectly captures the spirit of kids in early classroom settings. Readers will recognize the same group of children from You, Me, We—this time stepping into new situations where they discover how service, big or small, strengthens their bonds with one another.

Where You, Me, We focuses on exploring what peace is , Yours, Mine, Ours extends that vision into action, showing how caring for one another turns peace into something tangible. Together, the books carry forward a shared cast of characters that teachers, parents, and children will find themselves in.

JB: Tell us about a challenge you faced in the creation of Yours, Mine, Ours: A Celebration of Service and Community, or provide a memorable (or humorous!) anecdote related to the writing of the book.

BH: A bittersweet moment came just as the book was finished. Arun Gandhi passed away right after we saw the final art for Yours, Mine, Ours and just before You, Me, We was released. I had to return to the afterword and rewrite it in his memory. It was hard but meaningful, transforming grief into a tribute to Arun’s lifelong dedication to seva and community. The book now carries even more of his spirit, which feels like a true gift.

JB: What is one unexpected joy that came from the creation of Yours, Mine, Ours?

BH: One unexpected joy? When the illustrator—who lives in Colombia and had never seen my son—ended up drawing a character who looked just like him! At career day, all the third graders in his class asked if it was Taru. He hadn’t noticed… until his classmates convinced him. Talk about art imitating life!

 Illustration © Andrés Landazábal

JB: What is your favorite illustration in the book? Why?

BH: I love them all, but each book has a “climax moment” illustration where one child really brings the theme to life in an innovative way. In Yours, Mine, Ours, that moment happens to feature the boy who looks just like my son at age seven. Now that he’s ten, every time I see it I just get all gooey inside—it feels both timeless and deeply personal.

JB: What would surprise readers to learn about you or about the writing of Yours, Mine, Ours?

BH: Pssst… there are author Easter eggs in the art of each book! Look closely at the community spreads—you’ll find Arun and me tucked right in. Have fun spotting us!

 Illustration © Andrés Landazábal

JB: Who do you perceive your target audience to be and why?

BH: The target audience is young readers, families, and classrooms, especially kids just beginning to see how their actions can ripple out into the world. Service isn’t just for adults; children are natural helpers, and this book celebrates that spark. Really, it’s for anyone who’s ever passed the ball on the playground, helped a friend, or cleaned up without being asked.

JB: What do I hope kids take away?

BH: That their kindness in action counts! Even the smallest act of service—holding a door, picking up trash, including someone—can make the world brighter.

JB: How do you see Yours, Mine, Ours connecting to curriculum or being used in learning settings?

BH: Teachers, we’ve got you covered. A fabulous educator guide, created by Booklinks, is available on my website, with ready-made lesson plans and activities. It gives today’s busy (but always resourceful!) teachers easy ways to spark conversations about service, community, and working together plus fun word searches and more activities for young readers.

JB: If you could ask your young readers a question, what would it be?

BH: What’s the smallest thing you’ve done this week that made a BIG difference?”

JB: What project(s) are you currently working on? 

BH: 2025 is a three-book year for me! Next up is No Bad Parts!, co-authored with Dr. Richard Schwartz, the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS). Dr. Schwartz is a legend in therapy communities. I translate his seminal work for adults into an approachable context for kids. We follow a young boy as he discovers and accepts the many “parts” of himself—The Manager, The Exile, The Firefighter—and learns that each has a role to play. The story helps children (and the adults who love them) see that there are no bad parts, only parts that need understanding and care.

Like You, Me, We and Yours, Mine, Ours, this book also celebrates community—only here, it’s the community within ourselves. Together, these books remind young readers that peace and service begin both inside and out: by caring for our own parts and by showing up for one another.

 Illustration © Andrés Landazábal