Humans

This is a deceptive picture book that upon first glance could look like it’s going to be a non-fiction science book on the human body but it’s much deeper than that. It’s about the human race and how, as sentient beings with apposable thumbs and the ability to talk, we are different from other animals on earth.

These ‘super powers’ have enabled us to be creative and to work with others to build and invent wonderful things, like spaceships to take us to the moon and the internet to allows us to communicate with people all over the world. It’s a very stripped-back introduction to the concept of humanity, but one that pairs back some of the complications of modern life to a simple message: we are stronger together. A message that is timely considering the recent months of social unrest in the UK.

This is of course an adult’s reading of the book but I believe that younger readers would take this message too and it would highlight the benefits of teamwork as well as increasing their awareness of the bigger picture of why we are here and what we can do.

The illustrations are striking throughout the book. Bold colours, simple shapes but they fit the subject matter well. The subtleness of the inclusivity is delightful too- the people pictured are diverse in terms of their ethnicity, but there’s as little quiet nods to inclusion, such as with the spread where it talks about how ‘most of us’ can walk on two legs and features a wheelchair user in the illustration.

Alongside this bigger message there’s also humour- such as not having apposable thumbs is why ants can’t knit, or chickens play the guitar. Overall, it’s a wonderful, unassuming and beautifully stylised picture book that would be great to share with young readers in any setting.