A young boy passes a painting of a hand on a wall in his neighborhood and watches others placing their own hands against it. The act means something different for each of them: Ms. Iris tells him it is a link to her home country; for Devin, it connects him to his older sister, who just left for college; for Savannah, it reminds her of her grandmother who passed away. The boy thinks of those who are on the other side of the mural, of loved ones lost or lonely or far away, and of his own mother, who is currently incarcerated. While he waits for her to come home, the hand is there to connect them to each other and remind them that they are not alone.

Monumental, moving, and hopeful, Place Hand Here is a masterful work that honors the way art and love are bridges between us.

Katie Yamasaki works primarily as a muralist and picture book creator. She has painted more than eighty murals around the world, and her most recent book is Place Hand Here. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.