All of Us: A Young People's History of the World
by Christophe Ylla-Somers (Author) Yvan Pommaux (Illustrator)
An inclusive and expansive telling of the history of civilization from the beginning of time, by one of France's most beloved children's authors.
This book is about our history. Not the history of kings, queens, chiefs, emirs, great moguls, emperors, tsars, presidents, or dictators, but our own: the history of the men, women, and children who peopled the earth. It is a long story that began more than one hundred and fifty thousand years ago and continues today. Despite dark times, wars, and conflicts, we invented, worked, created extraordinary things, and transformed the world. Although we were often led to turn against one another, we also created strong bonds between ourselves. And we had fun too, dancing and singing and making music! Let's take a look at how our history unfolded on our earth, from the beginning to the present, without giving more weight to one country than another. What will we see?
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Publishers Weekly
The first nonfiction volume in the NYR Children's Collection, this ambitious panorama of human civilization covers the origins of life to the end of the Cold War. The narration moves across cultures and continents, marking developments keyed to an advancing timeline; detailed illustrations and maps by Pommaux augment the text. Readers may have conflicting feelings about Ylla-Somers's approach. The narrative frequently uses an omniscient we and is often written from the perspective of the oppressors ("We slaughtered lepers, vagrants, and Jews, who were increasingly shunned"; "There was land to be taken from the native people and cities to be built for future generations of brave emigrants"), and in at least one place removes fault from colonizing forces ("Chinese and Indian civilizations also whetted the appetites of the colonizers"). Though outmoded phrasing jars and the underlying perspective is primarily Eurocentric, the book also depicts the wide-ranging impacts of slavery, racism, colonialism, sexism, and environmental depredation. Ages 8-11. (June)
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"A perfectly balanced book showing how humans have made the world in which they live and ensuring that there is a balance of facts representing all countries and not favouring one over the other. Unique, clever and highly readable." —Armadillo
JNF038000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | General
JNF025000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | General
