Status
Available
Collections
Publication
San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2020.
Description
In this picture book, a boy writes a letter to an imagined alien, explaining all the things he will need to know about Earth and the people who live here--and adding a postscript asking what the alien might look like.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Written as a letter to a prospective alien visiting Earth, the narrative of this breathtakingly beautiful picture-book from author/illustrator Sophie Blackall describes our world, beginning with its position in our solar system, and then moving on to its human inhabitants. The diversity of human
A book about connection, about the wondrous diversity of our world and of our species, and the beautiful variety that this creates, If You Come To Earth is a sheer joy to read and peruse. Not unexpectedly, given that this is Sophie Blackall we're talking about, the artwork here, done in ink and watercolor, is resplendently beautiful, both in its detail and in its totality. I loved some of the little details here - the fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg appears in the scene about adults and what they do, or that the child at the center of one scene is reading Oliver Jeffers' Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth - and I loved the overall impression as well. The color palette is gorgeous, the general composition of each scene is lovely - the page featuring the various avian species, grouped together in flight in such a way that they together make up a bird, is particularly well done - and the human faces expressive. This deserved a nod from the awards committees, and I'm honestly a little shocked that it didn't receive one. I can only conclude that, because Blackall had already won the Caldecott Medal twice, for Hello Lighthouse and Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, the committee members decided to pass this new one over. Whatever the case may be, I think this may be the most beautiful 2020 picture-book I have yet seen, and it is certainly one of the most inspiring. The author's note at the rear of the book, in which she discusses the children around the world who inspired this book, and in which she delivers a message about caring for one another and for our planet, was very moving.
All in all, a wonderful book, one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for books celebrating our world and the immense diversity (of all kinds) that it contains. Given that this is a book about connection, I thought it marvelously appropriate that the librarian who checked it out for me included a little note, to the effect that March 18th was Alien Abduction Day. An amusing little gesture, but also another moment of connection!
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lifestyle and activity is explored, as is the diversity of animal life, and the book concludes with the message that we are all here together, on this one planet...A book about connection, about the wondrous diversity of our world and of our species, and the beautiful variety that this creates, If You Come To Earth is a sheer joy to read and peruse. Not unexpectedly, given that this is Sophie Blackall we're talking about, the artwork here, done in ink and watercolor, is resplendently beautiful, both in its detail and in its totality. I loved some of the little details here - the fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg appears in the scene about adults and what they do, or that the child at the center of one scene is reading Oliver Jeffers' Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth - and I loved the overall impression as well. The color palette is gorgeous, the general composition of each scene is lovely - the page featuring the various avian species, grouped together in flight in such a way that they together make up a bird, is particularly well done - and the human faces expressive. This deserved a nod from the awards committees, and I'm honestly a little shocked that it didn't receive one. I can only conclude that, because Blackall had already won the Caldecott Medal twice, for Hello Lighthouse and Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, the committee members decided to pass this new one over. Whatever the case may be, I think this may be the most beautiful 2020 picture-book I have yet seen, and it is certainly one of the most inspiring. The author's note at the rear of the book, in which she discusses the children around the world who inspired this book, and in which she delivers a message about caring for one another and for our planet, was very moving.
All in all, a wonderful book, one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for books celebrating our world and the immense diversity (of all kinds) that it contains. Given that this is a book about connection, I thought it marvelously appropriate that the librarian who checked it out for me included a little note, to the effect that March 18th was Alien Abduction Day. An amusing little gesture, but also another moment of connection!
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LibraryThing member nbmars
This charming book takes the form of a letter written by a small child named Quinn:
“Dear Visitor from Outer Space,
If you come to Earth,
Here’s what you need to know.”
The letter begins with a description of our solar system and its planets - “Ours is the greeny-blue one.”
It then gets into
The letter concludes:
“There are lots of things we don’t know. We don’t know where we were before we were born or where we go when we die.
But right this minute, we are here together on this beautiful planet.”
In a charming ending, Quinn adds, “If you come to Earth, you can stay in my room. Love, Quinn.”
Blackall explains in a note at the conclusion of the book that while traveling around the world in support of UNICEF and Save the Children, she always asked children for ideas about how they would explain our world to someone from outer space. One young boy in Australia named Quinn particularly impressed Blackall and she gave the child in the story his name. She reports, for example, that she asked Quinn “What kind of snack would you give a visitor from another planet?” “‘Mashed potatoes,’ he said without hesitation. ‘Because we don’t know if they have teeth.’”
Blackall, a two-time Caldecott Medal winner, uses Chinese ink and watercolor for her delightful illustrations full of details for discerning readers to discover. Many of the pictures help make the point - as Quinn observes in one spread - that “It’s better when we help each other.” Blackall reiterates this message in her note: “Right this minute, we are all here together on this beautiful planet. It’s the only one we have, so we should take care of it. And each other. Don’t you think?”
Evaluation: Both children and parents will love pouring over the pictures and ideas in this book for readers 5 and up, and thinking about what they might add to educate any visiting aliens.
“Dear Visitor from Outer Space,
If you come to Earth,
Here’s what you need to know.”
The letter begins with a description of our solar system and its planets - “Ours is the greeny-blue one.”
It then gets into
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the specifics of life on earth: where people live, how they live, what they do all day, what they look like, and what the life cycles are. Quinn describes various kinds of clothes and different kinds of weather, animals, fish, plants, and objects both natural and manufactured. Quinn also talks about things that are invisible, like wind, smells, sounds, emotions, and germs.The letter concludes:
“There are lots of things we don’t know. We don’t know where we were before we were born or where we go when we die.
But right this minute, we are here together on this beautiful planet.”
In a charming ending, Quinn adds, “If you come to Earth, you can stay in my room. Love, Quinn.”
Blackall explains in a note at the conclusion of the book that while traveling around the world in support of UNICEF and Save the Children, she always asked children for ideas about how they would explain our world to someone from outer space. One young boy in Australia named Quinn particularly impressed Blackall and she gave the child in the story his name. She reports, for example, that she asked Quinn “What kind of snack would you give a visitor from another planet?” “‘Mashed potatoes,’ he said without hesitation. ‘Because we don’t know if they have teeth.’”
Blackall, a two-time Caldecott Medal winner, uses Chinese ink and watercolor for her delightful illustrations full of details for discerning readers to discover. Many of the pictures help make the point - as Quinn observes in one spread - that “It’s better when we help each other.” Blackall reiterates this message in her note: “Right this minute, we are all here together on this beautiful planet. It’s the only one we have, so we should take care of it. And each other. Don’t you think?”
Evaluation: Both children and parents will love pouring over the pictures and ideas in this book for readers 5 and up, and thinking about what they might add to educate any visiting aliens.
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
A child named Quinn writes a letter to "Visitor from Outer Space," letting them know what Earth is like and what they can expect to see. A gently free-wheeling, kid-friendly voice describes: people and where they live and what they do; animals who swim, fly, walk; what kids do and what grownups do;
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sad things like fights, wars and not enough to eat; the kinds of weather, nature and man-made things there are; and closes with an invitation to stay over "if you come to earth." Pitch-perfect with child appeal and nicely diverse illustrations of people. An ideal book to generate a similar class-writing activity. Show Less
LibraryThing member deldevries
Great story and beautifully illustrated
Subjects
Awards
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Picturebook — 2022)
Red Clover Book Award (Nominee — 2022)
South Dakota Children's Book Awards (Nominee — 2023)
Blue Hen Book Award (Nominee — Young Readers — 2023)
Mitten Award (Top Ten — 2021)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2022)
Florida Literacy Association Children's Book Award (Third Place — Grades 3-5 — 2022)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Primary — 2022)
Three Stars Book Award (Nominee — Young Readers — 2021)
Charter Oak Children's Book Award (Nominee — Fiction — 2022)
Ladybug Picture Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
Iowa Goldfinch Award (Nominee — 2024)
Donna Norvell Oklahoma Book Award (Nominee — 2022)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Book (Primary — 2021)
Picture This Recommendation List (Fiction — 2022)
Language
ISBN
145213779X / 9781452137797