Review by Booklist Review
This nonfiction picture book illuminates the wonders and splendors of prehistoric cave and rock paintings around the world. A reverence and respect shines through Salyer's informative and graceful text: "Each handprint, marking, color, and material had a purpose. It took an enormous effort to make each piece." There are many mysteries surrounding ancient pictographs, and this book thoughtfully considers questions of who made them, how, and why. Breathtaking illustrations created in ceramic sculpture, photography, colored pencil, charcoal, pigment, and digital media capture the beauty and power of prehistoric artwork with remarkable precision. One stunning wordless spread offers an expansive and immersive lantern-lit view of the paintings covering the walls inside Lascaux caves. The importance of protecting and preserving these "distant memories in stone of what came before us" is emphasized throughout, along with referencing and honoring Indigenous communities who "still have distant familiarity with these ancient sites and stories." Extensive back matter offers a deeper archaeological dig into the topic, sharing print, website, and podcast resources for further investigation. With an inviting, inquisitive tone, this look at early human imagination and storytelling encourages the intrinsic drive to create: "The outlines of this shared story are old, but they are still being drawn. Even now, the story is unfolding all around you." This luminous picture book about humanity's shared stories is full of discoveries.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"The lives of our ancestors were filled with difficulties and danger," explains this visually stunning global survey of cave and rock art, "and yet, for thousands of years and despite their struggles... they took the time to create." Ancient artists carved and painted on rock walls, wielding handmade tools and pigments to make drawings whose "figures dance, leap, and run" in glimmering sunset or firelight. Salyer employs ceramic sculpture, photography, colored pencil, charcoal, pigment, and digital media to recreate the settings and details of artistic "time capsules" both ancient and modern-day--one magnificent double gatefold depicts lantern-bearing explorers coming upon extensive cave drawings reminiscent of those at Lascaux. Representing the figures mostly in shadow and silhouette, the vibrant spreads attend time- and place-spanning information about symbols used, now-extinct animals depicted, site specifics (many, for example "have unique soundscapes: Deep, resonant chambers"), and connections to Indigenous communities. It's a fascinating look at a still-unfurling human history. Extensive back matter includes a geographic overview and a brief background of Lascaux. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4--In this informative picture book, Salyer uses brilliant images to present the "history" found in rocks and cave art, making a connection between ancient artists and creators in modern times. Due to the topic's broad scope, Salyer asks more questions than she answers, which also reflects the mystery that still surrounds the creation of these artifacts. The outstanding features of the book are its art and powerful message. The ideas that our ancestors took time to create despite the challenges of survival they faced, and that humans' creative drive carries on to this day, will resonate with readers. Multimedia illustrations include photographs of ceramic structures, charcoal, and digital art. The smudged images filled with shadows and silhouettes are reminiscent of cave paintings but clearly executed in a modern style. Salyer depicts realistic artifacts of rock art down to the texture. The book peaks at its double gatefold where "the figures dance, leap and run" in a cave illuminated by flame, the shape of the rock structures making the figures "seem to emerge from the wall." The rest of the book does not rise to this level of informative detail. The back matter (map, author's note, time line, glossary, resource list) may prove too sophisticated for the intended audience and fails to put some terms into context (the definition of "Indigenous" may confuse children). VERDICT A lush and vibrant picture book which will leave readers wanting to know more. Supplement with additional nonfiction resources.--Clara Hendricks
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Review by Horn Book Review
Prehistoric rock art can be found all over the globe, forming what Salyer terms our ancestory. She doesn't belabor the portmanteau but instead invites readers to wonder at the ancient artists whose lives "were filled with difficulties and danger" yet "took the time to create." Mixed-media illustrations often mimic lithography as they depict humans both modern and ancient as well as the cave art at the center of the book. Salyer carefully emphasizes that the art emerges from many different times and many ancient cultures, one spread depicting samples found in modern-day Namibia, Australia, India, Finland, and more, made between three hundred and seventeen hundred years ago. She covers materials used in the art's creation, its fragility, and its beauty, speculating as to its purposes and uses at the time. Archaeologists study the art, and "sometimes people who are part of local Indigenous communities still have distant familiarity" with it. (The fact that some archaeologists are also Indigenous goes unspoken, alas.) Extensive back matter buttresses the text, with a glossary, timeline, note, map, resources, and capsule story of the caves at Lascaux. Those caves form the book's centerpiece, a breathtaking double gatefold that depicts their discovery, small human figures silhouetted against the soaring cave walls, illuminated by lantern light. An effective, efficient celebration of the human need to tell stories through art. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Prehistoric art "rocks" the world. This book about rock and cave art around the world introduces children to masterpieces dating back millennia, allowing readers to appreciate unique specimens of ancient creativity and recognize human kinship with distant ancestors who "took the time to create." The artwork, which relies on ceramic sculpture, photographs, colored pencil, charcoal, pigment, and digital media, teems with vivid images of paintings, drawings, and etchings. These include examples of rock art found all over the globe, with ages noted. Some are especially mesmerizing, presented as if in caves "illuminated" by lantern light, simulating flickering flames, akin to the conditions under which the art was made originally. Salyer makes intriguing points about these works as priceless repositories of history and culture. One example: Many animals depicted in rock and cave art no longer examples of extinct creatures and when they died out are given. The illustrations highlight Indigenous peoples who may "still have distant familiarity with these ancient sites and stories." The author raises questions about how and why our ancestors crafted their art: "Mapping the stars? Documenting the world around them?" Readers will also learn our forebears used all-natural materials, such as charcoal, ash, and malachite, and tools including flint, shells, and yucca stalks. Excellent explanatory backmatter concludes this fascinating book. Modern-day people are diverse; ancient people are seen in silhouette. (This book was reviewed digitally.) How extraordinary that ancient ancestors call out to us from the rocks we see all around. (site map; a story within a story: the rediscovery of the Lascaux caves; author's note; words to know; timeli resources for further reading and investigation) (Informational picture book. 8-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
