All of Us: A Young People's History of the World

by Christophe Ylla-Somers (Author) Yvan Pommaux (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

An inclusive and expansive telling of the history of civilization from the beginning of time, by one of France's most beloved children's authors.

This book is about our history. Not the history of kings, queens, chiefs, emirs, great moguls, emperors, tsars, presidents, or dictators, but our own: the history of the men, women, and children who peopled the earth. It is a long story that began more than one hundred and fifty thousand years ago and continues today. Despite dark times, wars, and conflicts, we invented, worked, created extraordinary things, and transformed the world. Although we were often led to turn against one another, we also created strong bonds between ourselves. And we had fun too, dancing and singing and making music! Let's take a look at how our history unfolded on our earth, from the beginning to the present, without giving more weight to one country than another. What will we see?

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Publishers Weekly

The first nonfiction volume in the NYR Children's Collection, this ambitious panorama of human civilization covers the origins of life to the end of the Cold War. The narration moves across cultures and continents, marking developments keyed to an advancing timeline; detailed illustrations and maps by Pommaux augment the text. Readers may have conflicting feelings about Ylla-Somers's approach. The narrative frequently uses an omniscient we and is often written from the perspective of the oppressors ("We slaughtered lepers, vagrants, and Jews, who were increasingly shunned"; "There was land to be taken from the native people and cities to be built for future generations of brave emigrants"), and in at least one place removes fault from colonizing forces ("Chinese and Indian civilizations also whetted the appetites of the colonizers"). Though outmoded phrasing jars and the underlying perspective is primarily Eurocentric, the book also depicts the wide-ranging impacts of slavery, racism, colonialism, sexism, and environmental depredation. Ages 8-11. (June)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A summary of humankind's existence so far, it unveils a passing pageant of raging wars, civilisations rising and falling, and religions becoming ever more divisive. Co-authors Yvan Pommaux and Christophe Ylla-Somers draw attention to the human race's great achievements alongside its failings, with Pommaux's excellent illustrations finding moments of beauty to offset the frequent instances of carnage. . . . The result is perfect educational reading for anyone too young yet to tackle Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens." —James Lovegrove, Financial Times

"Yvan Pommaux and Christophe Ylla-Somers's All of Us: A Young People's History of the World . . . is packed with information for young inquisitive minds. Beginning with 'vapor' turning into rain and the rain filling 'the hollows of the earth, ' All of Us provides a highly illustrated account of the 'history of the world.' Told as a linear narrative, with events, actions and individuals highlighted throughout, children can read from front to back or dip in and out depending on their mood." —Shelf Awareness

"A perfectly balanced book showing how humans have made the world in which they live and ensuring that there is a balance of facts representing all countries and not favouring one over the other. Unique, clever and highly readable." —Armadillo
Christophe Ylla-Somers
Yvan Pommaux was born in 1946 in Vichy and attended the École des Beaux-Arts de Clermont-Ferrand et de Bourges. He is an acclaimed children's book author, illustrator, and comic-book artist. He received the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris in 1985 and the Prix Sorcières in 2015 for All of Us.

Christophe Ylla-Somers is the son-in-law of Yvan Pommaux. He is also a singer, DJ, and historian of the Middle Ages.

Anna Lehmann has translated selected songs from Patrick Modiano's Fonds de tiroir for Harper's Magazine. Her translation of Yvan Pommaux's All of Us for The New York Review Children's Collection is her first book-length publication. She lives in New York City.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781681373218
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
New York Review of Books
Publication date
June 25, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF048000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Reference | General
JNF038000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | General
JNF025000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | General
Library of Congress categories
World history

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