Small Places, Close to Home: A Child's Declaration of Rights

by Deborah Hopkinson

The rights of children—and of all living things—begin in small places, close to home.

This is a poetic and moving adaptation of U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary.

In backyards and city parks, in school and at home—wherever and however we move through this world, we have certain inalienable rights—and it’s up to each one of us to ensure those rights for others, too.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by Eleanor Roosevelt and signed on December 10, 1948, marked the first time that countries agreed on a comprehensive statement of inalienable human rights. This gorgeous adaptation for children reminds us that universal rights begin in small places, close to home.

We all deserve to live free,

to feel safe,

to belong,

to learn,

to dream.