Learn to create fire, shape tools, partner with wolves and develop into thinking, creative persons who can influence the world around them.

This recreated story presents a sister and brother in a sequence of events that fits what little is known about that time. From this period on, people, the Cro-Magnon or Homo sapiens sapiens who are considered to be our ancestors, became what we term human. Short-listed for the 2001 Silver Birch Award, How did we get to be US? Who are WE? This story for the younger reader, set in the period some 50,000 years ago when an almost explosive change in people’s behaviour occurred, addresses these questions. The illustrations celebrate love, family, and community as they were expressed all across the globe in a time that will continue to teach us how good it is to be together. It acknowledges the tragic losses as well as the unexpected brighter spots of this time, and the underlying message to children is that they can make it through difficulty. This beautifully illustrated picture book addresses the grief and lasting effects of the pandemic.

When adults are hard-pressed to answer their children’s questions about “what happened?” or wish to invite children to express how this crisis affected them, Once Upon a Time Not So Long Ago will be of help. School-aged children (as well as the adults in their lives) will be processing the shock, loss, and disappointment of the COVID pandemic for years to come. A new book from Jennifer Grant that addresses what changes the pandemic may have brought into children’s homes, schedules, and social lives, in the hopes that discussing these changes can be part of the healing process.

Once upon a time not long ago remix