School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--If visitors came to Earth, what would they need to know? A young boy, Quinn, writes a letter to potential visitors in Blackall's stunning new book. Her signature Chinese ink and watercolor illustrations will draw children in for repeat readings to pore over each detail, such as the portraits of people from diverse backgrounds, from a construction worker and a firefighter to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Images such as a two-page spread of different types of birds arranged in the shape of a bird invite dialogue from prereaders, expanding their background knowledge about animals, transportation, or kinds of houses. Each page is well researched and inclusive, as Blackall depicts the many different people who live in the world. The inclusivity of various abilities is especially notable, including the American Sign Language alphabet, images of Braille, different types of families, and people using wheelchairs. The author's note tells how she came to know the real Quinn, an Australian boy with dark hair and light skin. VERDICT With its gorgeous and intricate illustrations, this is perfect for sharing one on one, and is recommended for most collections.--Jessica Ko, Los Angeles P.L.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Meeting children from around the world gave Caldecott Medalist Blackall (Hello Lighthouse) a vision of a book "that would bring us together," she explains in an author's note. This exquisite catalogue of human experience is the result. A child with an elfin red cap, white skin, and black hair frames the story, addressing a "Visitor from Outer Space." Magnificent spreads journey through the solar system and descend toward the Earth's surface, zeroing in on a quilted landscape. Fragmentary, often droll descriptions of Earth-side existence follow, about bodies and aging, home and travel, eating and drinking ("Some of us have more food than others"), and relationships ("Sometimes we hurt each other. It's better when we help each other"). Wide-eyed human characters of varying shapes, ethnicities, and abilities show kind regard for each other: a librarian offers a tissue to a man overcome, dinner table companions share animated conversation. Even for the accomplished Blackall, the artwork is dazzling. Encyclopedic paintings of the natural world--birds, sea life, an acorn, and more--are rendered in painstaking detail and brilliant colors. It is a book that can be shared with strangers, visitors, friends old and new--a work in which differences build to reveal an inclusive human family on a single, precious planet. Ages 5--8. (Sept.)
