On the small hill where the girls take off their shoes

A brief history of the world is delivered memorably in this thoughtful conceptual picture book about a small, seemingly innocuous hill. The poetically understated text appears on the left-hand side of each spread and has a nonspecific "Once upon a time" universality. A historic happening on the hill is showcased with each page turn. In a dark moment in Mesozoic time, "a dinosaur saw a brilliant star falling." During the Ice Age, "a herd of bison froze to death under the snow." The hill houses many things, some elaborately human made (a formidable medieval stone castle), some natural (the oak tree that later grows among the castle ruins). With fairy tale--like conversational ease and elegance, acclaimed storyteller Buitrago succinctly relays how each iteration in time builds on what was there before: "And on that stone which was once part of that castle, where now the girls sit to watch the sun go down . . . a family sat down one day to rest, fleeing from a war." Austrian illustrator Wolfsgruber's painterly artwork, rendered in monotype, drawing, and collage, positions the hill grounded in the middle of each facing page, as the sun rises and moon sets in the background details throughout the ages. Themes of regeneration, connection, and hope shine through the text and illustrations. A simply profound exploration of time and timelessness.

A parcel of land turns out to be steeped in history. On the top of a small hill, a group of young girls relax under the sunny sky with their shoes off. Unbeknownst to them, this spot was the site of events both exciting and monotonous, from the prehistoric reign of the dinosaurs and the planting of an oak tree to a man walking his dogs among the literal ruins of times past. As time marches on, a small community is eventually formed where the group of girls gather to continue living their lives without shoes. Buitrago's tender text, translated from Spanish, lovingly recalls the past while focusing on present-day experiences throughout. Wolfsgruber's monotype collage art, with earthy tones of brown, orange, and green, conveys the passage of time, with the spreads at the beginning presented through a haze that clears up as the story progresses--much like a memory itself. Themes of displacement run through the narrative, with quick glances at a family seeking refuge from an unnamed war and a flock of birds left without a home after the felling of a tree. Readers will come away curious to learn more about the histories of their own communities. Human characters vary in skin tone. The history of the world presented lovingly through an intimate lens.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.