Here We Are

Oliver Jeffers wrote and illustrated Here We Are for his newborn son, as a kind of welcome to the planet. It works as a short guide to life on Earth, explaining the basics of how things are laid out and who lives here, in the voice of a father trying to get a small person oriented.

The book moves from the near to the far. It looks at the land and sea around us, where the ground is bumpy in some places and the water is wet, then turns to the sky and the enormous space beyond it, where our planet is only a small part of something very big. It also takes in people themselves, with a reminder that despite all the differences in how we look, we are all people and nobody is alone here.

The tone stays gentle and funny throughout, with Jeffers's dry wit and bright, playful pictures keeping things light even when the subjects turn large. Kindness and tolerance run underneath it all, offered as the values he hopes his son will take on.

Although it began as a personal message from one parent to one child, the book speaks to any family. Children can enjoy the humor and the pictures, and parents will likely find it a touching thing to read aloud and share.