Reviews for Is there really a human race?
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Starting with an Amelia Bedelia-like question and ending with some latter-day Dr. Seuss advice, this new collaboration between Curtis and Cornell offers insights into the human condition. A carrot-top boy wants to know about the human race. When did it start? Where is it going? Is there an obstacle course? Is he the jockey or the horse? After many such fervently asked questions, the boy's mother provides some answers and advice: Sometimes it's better not to go fast. / There are beautiful sights to be seen when you're last. And maybe trying one's best is better than being first. There are strong messages about making the world a better place rather than just making it your oyster. Curtis' clever rhymes are brought to life in Cornell's high-energy art, which reaches a crescendo as the boy tries ever more frantically to figure out how to win the race. When Mom speaks her calming words, the pictures quiet down, giving this the peaceful ending dearly needed for overextended children--and their adults caretakers. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
This circuitous tale from the creators of It's Hard to Be Five opens with a series of questions: "Is there really/ a human race?/ Is it going on now all over the place?/ When did it start?/ Who said, `Ready, Set, Go'?/ Did it start on my birthday?/ I really must know." Cornell quickly livens up the proceedings, however, with a spread of newborns lined up in a nursery, suggesting clues to their futures. One sunglasses-sporting infant holds an Oscar statuette, another chews on the tassel of a graduation cap. The relay race metaphor plays out as Cornell pictures a diverse spectrum of people dashing about madly, and the narrator poses more questions: "Is the race like a loop/ or an obstacle course?/ Am I a jockey,/ or am I a horse?" After asking why he is doing "this zillion-yard dash," the lad observes that if we don't help each other, we're all going to "crash." Switching to the mother's perspective, the narrative emphasizes the importance of taking one's time, trying one's best ("that's more important than beating the rest") and making the world a better place "for the whole human race." Curtis's message has merit, yet its singsong delivery seems muddled. Yet fans of this duo may well be carried along by Cornell's bustling, whimsical art, overflowing with quirky particulars that celebrate the diversity of people everywhere. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
K-Gr 3-Curtis writes so very well, in infectious toe-tapping poetic form, of the inner thoughts and worries that children struggle with all too frequently. Here, a boy asks his mother the title question. He continues, "If the race is unfair, will I succeed?" His mother tells her son that it's often better to help others and make the world a better place than to win first place in a foot race. Cornell's ink-and-color wash cartoons are a perfect match to Curtis's lilting text. The detailed spreads will fascinate young readers. For instance, on the page on which the child asks, "-is Dad on my team?" the illustrations show his father, grandad, and a multitude of ancestors back to cavemen. When he worries about making the wrong turn, a maze full of children of different ethnicities is depicted. This book should be enjoyed by the whole human race.-Alice DiNizo, Plainfield Public Schools, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Teammates Curtis and Cornell have once again produced a winningly simple yet profound picture book that uses a play on the word "race" to ask, through a variety of child-posed questions, about the significant competition we all face as humans. What's the race all about? When did it start? How does one compete and train? What about winning or losing? The second half of Curtis's rhyming ode to humanity concludes with a series of responses pointing out everyone's responsibility to "just try your best" and help one another "make the world better for the whole human race." Cornell's signature full-color cartoon illustrations with hand-lettered text comically portray a variety of contests the young hero imagines with angst and concern as he continues to wonder. Sound philosophy ingeniously expressed in an amusing and insightful way that both youngsters can understand and we older folk should heed. (Picture book. 5-10) Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.
