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WE ARE HUMAN ANIMALS

Name: WE ARE HUMAN ANIMALS
Author: Rosie Haine
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5601-2

by Rosie Haine ; illustrated by Rosie Haine ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2023

A first-rate introduction to paleontology for young readers and a fine conversation sparker.

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We’re more closely related to our prehistoric ancestors than we realize.

The author opens this intriguing book provocatively—“We are human animals”—to introduce to readers a Paleolithic dark-skinned, dark-eyed family who lived in what’s now France circa 25,000 years ago. In clearly written prose, she supports her proposition that early people’s lifestyles were somewhat comparable to humans’ lives today. For example, this family’s and their neighbors’ lives were governed by the seasons and nature’s cycles; they banded together cooperatively; they were creative and made art and objects; they wondered about their world and used language. Such ideas will resonate with children, who will be fascinated to learn present-day humans are somewhat connected to very long-ago folk—and, in some ways, may still be compared to them. Adults presenting this volume should encourage kids to discuss their ideas about commonalities shared by present-day and prehistoric people and to consider the author’s use of animals to describe humans and whether they believe this word choice is apt. The digital illustrations, enhanced with handmade textures, are colorful and evocative; children will enjoy the realistic, warm scenes of the prehistoric world and appreciate the similarities portrayed between the worlds of then and now. Endpapers feature faces of racially diverse people. Excellent backmatter concludes the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A first-rate introduction to paleontology for young readers and a fine conversation sparker. (author’s note, examples of prehistoric artifacts) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: March 7, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-8028-5601-2

Page Count: 52

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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YOU'RE A GOOD SWIMMER

by Christopher Rivas ; illustrated by Ariel Boroff ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2024

Not exactly evenhanded in ascribing genetic agency but joyous, clever, and inclusive.

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Actor and podcaster Rivas offers effervescent affirmation that when it comes to being alive, we are all huge winners.

It all begins with “the biggest race of your life,” depicted in Boroff’s animated, glowing illustrations as a cloud of sperm rendered as thumbprints or thumbprint-shaped blobs with long, wriggly tails zooming toward an egg cell. Being “crafty…quick…smart and a little wild,” one particular “you” got there first, and with a bit of placental protection, “all the forces of the universe cooperated so that you could be here.” Rivas covers the bases, evolution-wise, with separate, allusive references to a heritage measured in “billions of years” and to something “mysterious, immense, and profound” that “had already decided, since the beginning of time, that you would exist.” More importantly, you were wanted, the author affirms. And, being “a champion of champions. Genetically speaking,” you “WERE BORN A WINNER.” The egg’s role doesn’t get much explicit notice in the narrative, but it does in the artwork, which includes schematic but recognizable views of an ovum, a placenta, and several figures with bulging midriffs. Also, on another page, silhouetted couples, including one who uses a wheelchair, dance at a “starting line” (and “there are many starting lines,” Rivas writes).

Not exactly evenhanded in ascribing genetic agency but joyous, clever, and inclusive. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: July 16, 2024

ISBN: 9798986827346

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Wheat Penny Press

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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MY LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK ABOUT PRIDE

by Kyle Lukoff ; illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2025

A straightforward and informative primer on Pride and the community it engenders.

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Why do rainbow flags often appear each June? Stonewall Award–winning author Lukoff offers an explanation.

Every year, queer folks and their allies come together to observe Pride—“a reminder for everyone to be proud of who they are.” After the Stonewall rebellion in June 1969 in New York City—a night when gay men and women and trans people “decided to fight back” after enduring frequent arrests by police—and the yearly parades that followed in its wake, San Francisco designer Gilbert Baker developed the rainbow Pride flag as a “symbol of hope for LGBTQIA+ people.” Lukoff explores the meanings behind the different colors of the most common Pride flag, from yellow (“sunlight”), which represents coming out of the closet and “being out in the light,” to orange (“healing”), which conveys the importance of seeking support. Though this yearly celebration has been co-opted by rampant commercialism, Lukoff returns to its roots, focusing on the community-building aspects of Pride. Other flags are featured such as the trans, genderqueer, asexual, and bisexual flags, yet they aren’t labeled or delved into further—a missed opportunity to emphasize the ever-growing queer community (the Progress Pride flag isn’t included at all). The upbeat digital illustrations depict people of different ages, races, genders, and sexualities. A note for parents offers basic child-friendly definitions of each of the terms in the initialism LGBTQIA.

A straightforward and informative primer on Pride and the community it engenders. (Informational picture book. 5-8)