Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Crown Books for Young Readers, New York (2016)
Description
"Lucy and her goofball brother Andy, two Neanderthal siblings living 40,000 years ago, take on a wandering baby sibling, bossy teens, cave paintings, and a mammoth hunt. But what will happen when they encounter a group of humans? Includes a special paleontologist section that helps to dispel common Neanderthal myths"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
Lucy and Andy and the Neanderthal***
This comic book style novel is directed at readers aged 8-12. It attempts to teach them about the beginning of our civilization in the Stone Age, using science and a story line which should encourage interest in further learning.
The story is cute with occasional
I felt that in some of the chapters the dialogue shifted a little too rapidly before the subject could be completely absorbed, but I also thought that the narrative encouraged deductive reasoning along with the introduction of proven hard, firm facts. I particularly liked the interchange of the presentations from comic-to instructor-to notes that further explained some difficult concepts.
Different types of reluctant readers should easily be captivated by this style and method of imparting instruction, since it doesn’t feel very much like a lesson and is not boring. It rather feels like entertainment.
I thought it might be beneficial to put less on each page so the frames did not become overwhelming. Sometimes they merged and were hard to follow and/or read. I thought that some of the characters in the drawings were too similar and, at first, were difficult to identify. Also, because the drawings were so alike, it was hard to determine the sex of the character by appearance alone.
I believe that it would be more advantageous for the book to be read one chapter at a time to enable better absorption of the information, rather than to read it in one sitting, which is doable, because of its brief length and easy to read design. The humor, which I thought was a tad inappropriate once or twice, at the very least will probably make the readers smile, and perhaps, some will even giggle out loud.
***The book I read is an uncorrected advance proof which the publisher provided to me and is not yet ready for publication, with drawings that were also not yet in their final state. Therefore, many of my comments may not be relevant when the final version is printed.
This comic book style novel is directed at readers aged 8-12. It attempts to teach them about the beginning of our civilization in the Stone Age, using science and a story line which should encourage interest in further learning.
The story is cute with occasional
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bursts of sarcasm that might not be understood by all readers, but they will still feel at home with the tale as it includes sibling rivalry and every child’s desire to grow up faster in order to be allowed to participate in more adult activities.I felt that in some of the chapters the dialogue shifted a little too rapidly before the subject could be completely absorbed, but I also thought that the narrative encouraged deductive reasoning along with the introduction of proven hard, firm facts. I particularly liked the interchange of the presentations from comic-to instructor-to notes that further explained some difficult concepts.
Different types of reluctant readers should easily be captivated by this style and method of imparting instruction, since it doesn’t feel very much like a lesson and is not boring. It rather feels like entertainment.
I thought it might be beneficial to put less on each page so the frames did not become overwhelming. Sometimes they merged and were hard to follow and/or read. I thought that some of the characters in the drawings were too similar and, at first, were difficult to identify. Also, because the drawings were so alike, it was hard to determine the sex of the character by appearance alone.
I believe that it would be more advantageous for the book to be read one chapter at a time to enable better absorption of the information, rather than to read it in one sitting, which is doable, because of its brief length and easy to read design. The humor, which I thought was a tad inappropriate once or twice, at the very least will probably make the readers smile, and perhaps, some will even giggle out loud.
***The book I read is an uncorrected advance proof which the publisher provided to me and is not yet ready for publication, with drawings that were also not yet in their final state. Therefore, many of my comments may not be relevant when the final version is printed.
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LibraryThing member bemislibrary
Set in prehistoric times, each chapter has a bit of history about the animals, items, or people siblings encounter in this mini story collection. The artist used hand drawn black and white sketches to show interactions between older sister Lucy and younger brother Andy that would fit into any era.
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The book is appropriate for older middle school students as the number of sketches per page and the inserted factoids may be harder for younger readers to follow. Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
A cute comic book formated novel about a family of Neanderthals living their lives in ancient times, Lucy and Andy (the protagonists) are a brother and sister and they have the typical goals and squabbles of young kids today. The important aspect of the graphic novel is that it teaches young
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readers about Neanderthal life - hunting, food, making weapons, art, etc. The book is broken into episodes lasting about 7 or 8 pages each. I can see why Mr. Brown has a following among the 9 to 12 year old crowd. Show Less
LibraryThing member elenchus
Brown's enthusiasm for learning about Neanderthals evidently inspired a novel format: a fictional story of a Neanderthal group comprised of a family and a handful of unrelated people, facing the typical challenges of the time, and punctuated with interludes in which modern anthropologists discuss
The ending is remarkably open-ended, which makes perfect sense given the history of Homo sapiens / Neanderthal interaction (and more importantly, our ignorance of what precisely happened). But surprising for a graphic novel -- until I confirmed it's the start of a series. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes, and reading aloud with W.
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aspects of the chapter just finished. Brown is able to identify where he took creative license (e.g. a domesticated cat), and where the archaeological evidence is partial or missing.The ending is remarkably open-ended, which makes perfect sense given the history of Homo sapiens / Neanderthal interaction (and more importantly, our ignorance of what precisely happened). But surprising for a graphic novel -- until I confirmed it's the start of a series. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes, and reading aloud with W.
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LibraryThing member lexilewords
Now remember my impressions are based on an ARC received in January 2016 and the book isn't due until August 2016. In fact about halfway thru the art gets very rough and big disclaimers of "ART NOT FILE" adorn every page.
I'm sincerely worried about Andy & Lucy o.o like don't trust the humans!
In general I enjoyed this graphic novel. And I learned some stuff--that's right, you get to learn stuff. At the end Brown makes a point to say he is constantly reading new sources to keep it as up to date as possible, meanwhile two present day "scientists" jump in occasionally to set straight incorrect assumptions.
Like I said in a status update, this reminds me of the cartoon CRO, which is not bad and greatly appreciated.
I think kids (especially middle grade) will appreciate the fact that neither Lucy nor Andy are taken seriously by the "adults" (isn't this case their parents and two older kids, Phil and Margaret). It's the first in a series, and Lucy at least is usually proved correct, so I wonder how long we will follow them.
Or whether Andy will EVER get to go on a hunt or will Danny EVER wear pants.
I'm sincerely worried about Andy & Lucy o.o like don't trust the humans!
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They're never up to good things! Sneaky is sneaky!In general I enjoyed this graphic novel. And I learned some stuff--that's right, you get to learn stuff. At the end Brown makes a point to say he is constantly reading new sources to keep it as up to date as possible, meanwhile two present day "scientists" jump in occasionally to set straight incorrect assumptions.
Like I said in a status update, this reminds me of the cartoon CRO, which is not bad and greatly appreciated.
I think kids (especially middle grade) will appreciate the fact that neither Lucy nor Andy are taken seriously by the "adults" (isn't this case their parents and two older kids, Phil and Margaret). It's the first in a series, and Lucy at least is usually proved correct, so I wonder how long we will follow them.
Or whether Andy will EVER get to go on a hunt or will Danny EVER wear pants.
Show Less
Awards
Children's Favorites Awards (Selection — 2017)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Kids (Graphic Novels — 2016)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2016)
ISBN
0375975918 / 9780375975912