A recent lunchtime was a few small pieces of cold pepperoni pizza, a lime seltzer (I really don’t like seltzer but I’m expanding my literal tastes) and a few online books. One of those was Boy Here, Boy There by Chuck Groenink. I will start with the ending of the book, or more specifically, the extras at the end. They talk about how Neanderthal and Homo sapiens were. Mostly focusing on Neanderthal, as the main character is a boy of a tribe of Neanderthals, we get a highlighted piece of their history. This was probably my favorite part of the book just because the story itself was not very “meaty” and didn’t give a lot. And the books story is really sweet and clever.
What it did give was a boy and his family. Doing things we would do. Walk, gather together in a group, go off and explore. We would play like the boy, but he follows deer, so he jumps like them, tries to fly like the birds, falls, and lazes in the grass watching the feathers above. The language is told through an all knowing narrator that speaks in a more poetic language that captures the essence of things.
The illustrations are soft, and while not overwhelmingly busy, they have details and a little something to them. The colors are earthy in tone, and try to convey a quiet atmosphere, that has the birds, animals, winds making the commotion and not the people. They continue this softer, not threatening feeling when the boy sees another boy across the way. This is a simple book, good for anytime reading. I would say more one-on-one reading than in a group, but it could be adapted. The text is easy reading allowing a beginner (with help) to read and a stronger early reader to be okay.