ALA Booklist

Lucy and Andy might seem like regular kids ey bicker, get into trouble, try to impress the big kids, and so on t there's one major difference in best-selling Brown's new series. It's 40,000 years ago, and Lucy and Andy, true to their name, live in a cave. In episodic adventures, clever Lucy and eager (if inept) Andy watch a mammoth hunt, learn to make tools and weapons, lose track of their baby brother, and make cave paintings, among other adventures, while a pair of paleontologists appear periodically to sift fact from fiction and serve up some extra info on early humans and neanderthals. Brown is particularly adept at drawing out humor in everyday situations, thanks to his spot-on comedic timing and deeply expressive, goggle-eyed cartoon figures, rendered in thick black lines and precise gray washes. Though each chapter is fairly discrete, a longer story arc simmers in the background, and a reveal in the last chapter promises exciting new developments in forthcoming volumes. Middle-graders who loved Brown's Jedi Academy series will adore this, too.

Kirkus Reviews

Two Neanderthal preteens weave a tale of everyday life to which even modern kids can relate.Over 40,000 years ago, tucked into a cozy cave, siblings Lucy and Andy live with their light-skinned and hirsute tribe, made up of their family (mother Luba, father Charles, and baby brother Danny) and another (Daryl and his children, Margaret and Phil, both older than Lucy and Andy). As related in a series of interrelated (and often wittily titled vignettes), the tribe spends its days in quotidian Neanderthal occupations: hunting mammoths, cooking, caring for one another, and making clothes and tools. Brown ambitiously weaves fact into his fiction and ends each short episode with interesting commentary about Stone Age life from two anthropologist characters, a white woman and a black man. At times these facts seem at odds with the story; despite a page devoted to speculation about Neanderthal gender equity, for instance, Luba seems entirely focused on child care. Although Brown makes reference to reading "almost a hundred!" books as research, he offers his readers neither bibliography nor resources to follow up on ignited interest (other than an impressive list of museums to visit). Despite this quibble, Brown's vivacious plotlines are laugh-out-loud funny, and in spite of the prehistoric setting, this comic charmer should readily appeal to young readers.Read solely as fiction, this is an auspiciously clever and engaging series opener. (Graphic historical fiction. 7-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Brown-s (the Jedi Academy series) episodic graphic novel about a clan of Neanderthals starts out low-key enough, as goofy Andy, his much smarter sister Lucy, and other children bicker over tool-making and food-gathering. (After debating mammoth-hunting options, they settle on -the usual,- i.e. -Chase one down and stab it until it stops moving.-) Two archaeologists pop up at the end of each chapter to demonstrate how the objects that Lucy and Andy use and make-their tools, the bones they chew on, even their teeth-reveal information about their lives. The female Neanderthal bones show just as much wear and tear as the males, the scientists point out; they may have done the same kinds of work. Hints sprinkled throughout about a lost spear and missing mammoth meat build to a climax as Andy and Lucy-s group encounters a smoother, more sophisticated, and possibly menacing group of humans. Readers with an interest in fossil discoveries won-t be able to put this down, while those who have never given cave life a thought may find themselves with a new interest. Ages 8-12. Agent: Marc Gerald, Agency Group. (Aug.)

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5 Popular author Brown brings his fun cartoon style, often seen in his "Star Wars" adventures, to this prehistoric tale. Lucy and Andy are two Neanderthal siblings who take us through a fairly normal week (mammoth hunting, crafting tools, making clothes). At the end of each chapter, modern scientists on an archaeological dig at their cave provide factual commentary. The last chapter and author's note include a time line and more information about the world of the Neanderthals. With his extensive research and these notes, Brown has created a graphic novel that is as much nonfiction as fiction, containing historical context and a lovely fictional story with siblings, crushes, and other adventures. The resulting blend is sure to draw reluctant readers and send some students scurrying for more in-depth material. Kids will learn a great deal about the Neanderthals while laughing their way through the story. Brown demonstrates a depth of knowledge of the subject, with a few winking anachronisms.