Ilene Cooper creates a companion to her bestselling book The Golden Rule in this timely and universal creation story about “repairing the world” that will resonate with people across diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds.

After creating the heavens and earth, the plants and animals, and then humans, God decides to give humans wonderful gifts such as happiness and health. Wisdom and kindness. Love and laughter. Imagination and celebration. Peace. Serene, soothing Peace.

However, in God’s eagerness to share the gifts, God places them in clay vessels that easily break. The wind soon scatters the gifts around the earth. And so God asks the humans to gather them. And to this day that is what humans try to do.

To create a universal message, Omer Hoffmann depicts God as brilliant colors and the humans are from many places and cultures around the world.

This story will resonate with all people no matter their religion or culture. It is inspired by the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam—Hebrew for “repairing the world”—that encourages and instructs people to make the world a better place, similar to the Golden Rule.

From author Ilene Cooper and illustrator Omer Hoffmann, this acclaimed team brings to life a universal message: that each of us can do our part through kindness, charity, helpfulness, and social action to bring about change.