Here We Are

June 15, 2022
Rich illustrations depict a series of basic opposites. In this board book, award-winning author/illustrator Jeffers takes inspiration from Here We Are (2017). Opposites like young and old and day and night are shown through simple stand-alone illustrations, through contrasting landscapes, or simultaneously in one layout. The art is compelling--for outside and inside, we see a child's body, the left side covered in pink skin, the right a skeleton, the ribs hugging the lungs. The sense of curvature and space is playful and adds visual interest. The illustration for above and below is also clever--while a small boat rocks on the water, a world exists below it in the ocean. A nesting sea gull sits above the boat on a cliffside, while below, a shark, a narwhal, a sea turtle, and other creatures swim. Jeffers also includes some scenes as a wink to the caregivers reading aloud, like the pages for asleep and awake, which feature snoozing adults next to a baby in a crib, wide awake and wielding a hammer. Many of the pages are rich with details, like a busy apartment building and a beautiful sloping view of the Earth. This book allows for a range of reader experiences and invites readers to linger on each page. People depicted are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Captivating illustrations that are enjoyable for adults and children alike. (Board book. 0-2)

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Starred review from October 30, 2017
"These are the things I think you need to know," writes Jeffers (A Child of Books), dedicating this contemplative and heartfelt book to his young son. Each spread highlights aspects of this planet or life on it: the solar system, people and animals, the way time can seem to move slowly or quickly. "Use your time well," he advises. "It will be gone before you know it." Throughout, Jeffers channels the voice of an adult who knows things but perhaps still struggles to find the right words to explain them: "Generally how it works is that when the sun is out, it is daytime, and we do stuff." After discussing land, sea, and sky, he admits that the sky "can get pretty complicated" (dotted lines separate the "air we breathe" from the "stratosthingy" and "outer space," among other labeled celestial and meteorological entities). Moments of human intimacy jostle with scenes that inspire cosmic awe, and the broad diversity of Jeffers's candy-colored humans—musicians, hijabis, nuns, explorers, potentates—underscores the twin messages that "You're never alone on Earth" and that we're all in this together. Ages 3-7. Agent: Paul Moreton, Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. (Nov.)

The pub date of this book has been updated.