Afterward, Everything Was Different: A Tale from the Pleistocene (Aldana Libros)

by Jairo Buitrago (Author) Rafael Yockteng (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Aldana Libros

This almost wordless picture book set in the dawn of human life imagines how art and storytelling were born from the power of one young girl's observation.

Once upon a time, during the Pleistocene, somewhere between two-and-a-half million and ten thousand years ago, small groups of people traveled their known world, hunting for food, seeking shelter, and slowly becoming more like the people we are today.

As far back as 40,000 years ago (and maybe even earlier) people began drawing pictures on cave walls. And a bit later, they carved images onto stones. Some pictures are of humans, usually drawn as stick figures, but most are of animals. We don’t know their purpose, though in some cases, evidence seems to suggest they were used for storytelling. But when we look at these pictures, we can’t help but admire the extraordinary talent of the first artists. They aren’t just scratches on the wall. They are great art.

In this book of few words, we follow a young girl who notices everything that happens around her as her people search for a cave to shelter for the winter. And we can believe that she feels the absolute necessity to draw what she has seen and to tell stories.

Afterward, Everything was Different features:

  • Backmatter explaining what we know—and don’t know—about cave drawings.
  • Stunning black and white illustrations of life during the Pleistocene.
Select format:
Hardcover
$19.95

More books in the series - See All

Kirkus

Starred Review

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

ALA/Booklist

Fascinating. . . the truth is still there on cave walls and in all our storytimes.

None

Yockteng's graphite and ink illustrations, in shades of black and white, successfully imagine this early time period and, more importantly, tell a story about the emergence and significance of storytelling.

Review quotes

Highly recommended. . . offers an interpretation of the world's first art—cave drawings—which is beautifully rendered in graphite-and-white ink by international award-winning artist, Yockteng, and which offers a tribute to the importance of art's contribution to our humanity. —School Library Connection

 

Jairo Buitrago

Jairo Buitrago (author) and Rafael Yockteng (illustrator) have collaborated on many highly acclaimed picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest!, Two White Rabbits, Walk with Me, and Lion and Mouse. They won the A la Orilla del Viento contest for the Spanish edition of Walk with Me, which was also named to IBBY's Honor List and the Kirkus Prize shortlist. Their books have also appeared on Los mejores libros del año (Venezuela's Banco del Libro), Kirkus Best Books, the Horn Book Fanfare, and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Jairo lives in Mexico City. Rafael lives in Bogotá.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781778400605
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Greystone Kids
Publication date
May 09, 2023
Series
Aldana Libros
BISAC categories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
JUV016090 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Prehistory
Library of Congress categories
Storytelling
Migration
Cave dwellers
Prehistoric peoples
Wordless picture books
Storytelling in art

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