AFTERWARD, EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT

A wordless black-and-white tale detailing the journey of a Pleistocene family.

Opening with six double-page graphite sketches of a bison hunt that precedes the title page—a cinematic touch that will have kids mesmerized from the get-go—this story of prehistoric people encourages readers to look closely, notice details, and imagine coexisting with saber-toothed cats and mastodons. Some animals (apelike creatures) are helpful companions of the hominids, some (primarily herbivores) live peaceably with them, while others see them as food. As the family travels, the youngest children, naked even in the snow, climb trees and play, while their older sister, who wears animal furs like the adults, examines footprints and looks out for predators. In their search for a cave home, they encounter many animals, including a gigantic bearlike creature that becomes the rug in their cave after they kill it. When the family leaves the girl alone inside the cave, she begins to draw on the stone walls with a charred stick, and by the time they return, she has covered the cave walls with an extensive pictorial story of their journey. Yockteng makes meticulous use of shading and ramps up the drama through thrilling use of scale that sees this intrepid family dwarfed by mountains, trees, and animals. This gorgeously illustrated work will encourage young readers to speculate about the joys, dangers, and complex family dynamics of the hominids of the Pleistocene. Characters have gray-tinged skin. Backmatter with more information on the Pleistocene is translated from Spanish. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A stirring and thought-provoking reflection on the essential part stories play in making us human.