Starred Review ALA Booklist (Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Starred Review In this contemplative, philosophical picture book, a young child considers his or her life and wonders what it would be like to live under different circumstances. The book begins with the generic, fair-skinned child sitting on a large rock in a body of water alongside a small boat, in which the child takes a thought-provoking journey to visit a variety of people and challenging settings, including a homeless encampment in a city, a war zone, refugees on a boat, refugees on land, child laborers, the desert, Antarctica, isolated deep forests, and areas affected by floods and earthquakes. The introspective nature of the text, which considers why some people are born into relative comfort and safety while others are not, makes the book best suited to the older end of the picture-book set. Pastel and colored pencil illustrations add intriguing elements to the narrative, such as when a lemur the child rescues during the voyage appears on the rock with the child at the end of the story, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. This intriguing, unusual Norwegian import provides insight into how humans can be self-reliant and simultaneously desire connection, and while it raises more questions than it answers, those questions are sure to jump-start meaningful, empathy-building conversations.

Kirkus Reviews

An introspective book that will provoke reflection, particularly in sensitive and observant readers of a philosophical nature. A dark-haired, brown-eyed child with light brown skin, clad simply in a T-shirt and jeans, ponders deep existential questions, wondering what life would have been like in a variety of different settings. Soft and dreamy illustrations help cushion the harsh impact of the reality some must cope with as the narrator journeys past young people who are homeless, fleeing war, working as child laborers, and surviving natural disasters. Touches of the fanciful and lovely-a secret forest, friendship with a ring-tailed lemur, stargazing-remind readers that even in a world of tremendous hardship there are moments of wonder. This is a multilayered book; "here" refers both to the particular physical location where one finds oneself and to our very existence on this Earth. It can be used to prompt existential conversations ("Why am I me, and not someone else?") or to discuss current events (imagining that "everything was destroyed and wiped away," the child asks, "Where would I go then? / Would I come here? / In that case, it would be good if someone said that / I could stay here"). This Norwegian import takes young readers seriously, respecting their innate sense of compassion and need to derive meaning from the seemingly inexplicable. (Picture book. 6-10)

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

Orbeck-Nilssen and Duzakin tackled the looming fears of a boy and his grandmother in 2015-s I-m Right Here, and this outing is no less ambitious as a shaggy-haired child, whose gender is unspecified, ponders his or her place in the world. From the vantage point of a canoe, the child considers the degree to which identity is connected to place (-What if I were somewhere else.... Would I have been someone else, then?-) before imagining other possible realities, many grim and challenging. Working in pastels and pencils, Duzakin creates moody scenes of towering city skylines where the child imagines living -on the street or under a bridge,- the rocky shoals of war-torn landscapes (-What if the war never ended? Where would I go then?-), and children carrying giant boulders out of a cave (-What if I lived in a place where I had to work all day long, deep inside a mountain-). While Duzakin-s images soften the stark realities of homelessness, natural disasters, and imperiled refugees, the book-s clarion call for empathy, understanding, and compassion comes through loud and clear. Ages 5-9. (Oct.)

School Library Journal (Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Gr 3 Up-A young child imaginatively navigates her way by canoe through time and place, contemplating the age-old question, "Why am I here?" She wonders if she could withstand the challenges of living alone in a large city or escaping a war-torn land, as many children must. The girl also considers what life would be like emigrating over land and sea with thousands of others or having to carry a heavy workload in the dark confines of a cave. The child asks herself if people are born in the place where they are meant to be and if one day maybe it is time to travel elsewhere. Or could the answer to the question simply be that our bodies house who we really are and wherever we are becomes home? This stunning picture book is the second collaboration between &6;rbeck-Nilssen and Duzakin. Encouraging readers to be open-minded and empathetic, this title brings the world to one's doorstep and gently touches on homelessness, poverty, war, isolation, and the hardships that many children face around the world. The soft illustrations, created with pastel and colored pencil, are so beautiful that each should be framed and admired by many. VERDICT Perfect to read aloud or spark discussion, this existential offering is a lovely option for anyone who strives to raise children who are empathetic global citizens. Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE