BOY HERE, BOY THERE

A simple gesture vividly and profoundly transforms a Neanderthal boy’s life.

The child travels in search of shelter with his family. They find a cave, set up a hearth for cooking, and then rest. Meanwhile, the boy wistfully peers out from the cave at the vast valley outside. Before long, he’s off exploring—running, jumping, and rolling down hills with a joyous expression that will be familiar to contemporary children. An unseen narrator describes his journey with an infectious staccato cadence, drawing comparisons: “Trees big, / boy small. / Boy big, / crawler small.” These likenesses propel the narrative, as in this description of birds, woolly mammoths, and the boy: “Feathers in sky. / Feathers in hair. // Big hairies there. / Little hairy here.” Later, the child gazes across a river (“Boy here”) and sees another boy (“Boy there”)—a different kind of boy, a Homo sapiens. The Homo sapiens boy waves to the Neanderthal, and this seemingly small act seals their fateful encounter. A full-page spread sets the boys’ brown faces side by side, illustrating how much they share even though they are of different species. This affirming tale of connection is a superb marriage of text and visuals; Groenik's muted colors, soft rounded panels, images of caves backlit by fire, wordless spreads, and endearing facial expressions throughout culminate in a resplendent final scene that sees the Neanderthal boy returning home and memorializing his experience by making art that will reverberate through archeological history.

A lyrical and beautifully imagined prehistoric encounter.