(1) K-3 About a quarter of a million years ago, "we"—modern humans—first appeared in Africa. Combining vibrant, painterly illustrations and short, lyrical, explanatory paragraphs, Smith outlines major contributions of these various groups from prehistoric Africa, including acquiring language, making music and art, creating tools, growing crops, and developing and using medicines. Back matter includes an illustrated chart that corresponds to each contribution, arranged in the same chronological order as the text, and shares brief historical information about each milestone. For example, readers glimpse two early humans in a cave with the accompanying text: "We questioned, 'What could this blank canvas possibly become?'" The chart in the back matter supplies more details: the earliest human drawings date back seventy-three thousand years and were found in the Blombos Cave in South Africa. In addition, these early Africans explored, pondering, "Perhaps these Nile perch are not the only ones who can river-fly. Can we not try?" An impressionistic migration map suggests the paths Africans took to populate the rest of the globe. An author's note and a timeline complete the book.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(3) K-3 Smith's testimony of his artivism journey illuminates the heart of an artistic Black boy desperate to make the world a better place. The text reflects on the concept of "artivism" and what it can achieve, as well as the character traits required to be an artivist. The artivist is many things, readers learn — an ally in the fight against injustice, a memory keeper, visionary, and more. With their studied rawness and striking visual metaphors, Smith's painterly digital illustrations are concept art-esque, and depict the boy ten toes down — wielding his paintbrush to peacefully protest gun violence, environmental degradation, housing inequality, and other societal transgressions. An image showing a mural, painted by the boy, becoming a viral sensation highlights the tectonic, auxiliary role of social media in contemporary resistance art movements.

Reviewer: Summer Edward