Boy Here, Boy There

by Chuck Groenink

To a young Neanderthal boy, the world is full of incredible adventures — and unexpected encounters, when he meets a human boy for the first time in this stunning, sparsely worded picture book.

A prehistoric Neanderthal family arrives at their new home, a cave, after a long journey. But their young boy's imagination is seized by the beauty and promise of the valley below, and he sets out to explore all that the valley has to offer along, with his place in it. This wild, prehistoric world is full of beauty and wonder, including big and little "hairies" (woolly mammoths). But across a river, the boy spots another boy, a Homo sapiens. He's dressed differently, but so much else is the same. The two share a moment of recognition before the stranger and his family depart, leaving a lasting impression on the Neanderthal boy — one that will have effects reaching throughout history.

This picture book, sparingly written and expansively illustrated, imagines an encounter between Homo sapiens and our Neanderthal cousins based on the expanding understanding of prehistoric peoples. It will inspire young readers to see the beauty in discovery and the natural wonders of the prehistoric world as well as our shared humanity.

Includes back matter with information about prehistoric life and Neanderthals as well as a bibliography.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Juvenile, Historical Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Chuck was born in 1982 in an overgrown village somewhere among the moors and peat bogs in the north of the Netherlands. Where he spent his formative years climbing trees, drawing, reading and cycling a lot. All activities he still regularly practices.
He attended the Artez institute of visual arts in Kampen, graduating from the department of illustration in 2004. After traversing the country a couple of times with all his belongings, he left the Netherlands in october 2010 and is now quite happily living in Kinderhook, NY.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, beautiful pictures.
A book about a little boy exploring his home valley, after being away for the winter.
A cute story.

CW: The author's note said that this little boy wasn't human, but a 'neanderthal'. He went on to describe them, and they sound just like humans to me? The only differences would be some physical characteristics, big noses, mouths, ect. But, I've met people with both. ☺️
He also guesstimates that the world is older than I believe likely.

It might be good for discussion about different beliefs about the past with older children.

[Bethany Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. The pictures help transport the reader to a sacred time of stillness in nature. This book is also a good introduction to the world of poetry introducing a unique way of storytelling.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a post-publication review copy. Thank you!

Wonderful art. Don't miss the endpapers, and the beginning of the story before the title page. And the author's note. And the bibliography on the copyright page at the end. In other words, beside being a lovely and fascinating book, there's a lot to learn about humanity from it.

I especially love the story itself. Seeing the little boy explore his world and get dirty knees & feet just hits me in the heart. And his encounter w/ Homo Sapiens is so well-done; I felt his surprise, too.

I like the details so much. Like the way Boy's family settles in the cave, a mother to nurse a baby, another person to care for his tired feet. And the way the author guesses at likely language development, like 'big hairy' for mammoth, and 'big growler' for bear.

Highly recommended, especially to families of course. Kids of all ages can get plenty from it on different levels.

The only reason I'm not giving it the full five stars is because I don't give five stars to books that don't have universal appeal, and unfortunately I can't see recommending this to my husband, mother, or older sons.
And now I'm off to investigate the books listed in the bibliography (and I'm tempted to try to find some of the journal articles listed there, too).

[Bente Pompen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this book. It’s beautifully written, and the illustrations are just stunning. Not only does Chuck Groenink know how to use perspectives and colors, but it’s the way he works with light in his illustrations that makes it look almost magical. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone I know.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reimagining of what life may have been like for a young Neanderthal boy. It begins with the prehistoric family searching for a new home and finding it in a cave. After they are settled in, the boy explores the nearby valley, finding a variety of plants, and animals, and berries to eat. The joyful curiosity we see in this child's discoveries is one that is seen in children everywhere when they are encountering the wonder of the natural world. And then this Neanderthal boy sees another boy and his family, Homo sapiens, the same yet different. Then the Homo sapien child raises his hand when leaving. Later when the Neanderthal boy returns home, after staring at his hand, he places his ash covered hand on the cave wall. The last double page spread shows the Neanderthal family sleeping in their cave with a cave wall covered in handprints. For the record, nowhere in this story are the words Neanderthal and Homo sapiens used; that's all in the author's note in the back. But however you read this, this is a lovely picture book about prehistoric cave life and art.

"A hand is raised,
and boy here
remembers boy there."

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

If your kiddo can’t get enough of prehistoric life, this is a great book to further their interests. A cave boy wanders the new place his parents have traveled to, spying different animals including another type of human. I love the simple yet effective language throughout, further feeding into that sense of before. The illustrations of prehistoric nature are beautiful and familiar and I love the back matter explaining more about the history of homo sapiens. Lastly, I love that boy is not whitewashed and overall, the theme revolves around that important connection of humans, no matter the culture.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book imagining the life of a prehistoric child. If we follow our family tree back far enough we might see where Neanderthals and early humans co-existed. Our young protagonist spends his days exploring, much like modern children. Curious about the world around him, he ends up on a river bank looking across at another boy; similar but different to himself. Would they be friends? Could they be friends? The imagination soars at the potential meeting. The illustrations are engaging and flow with the simple story.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large format book with few words, in prose form that tell of a Neanderthal boy who goes for a walk and finds another boy across the river. I thought it was just a cool story about cave people and beautiful images until in read the back and saw that it was a Neanderthal boy meeting a homo sapien for the first time. Cool concept to think about and this is done in a way that kids would find interesting. They too might not get the concept at first but just think they are two boys from different tribes, but either way it's a good starting point for convos about cave people.

[Zoe Kaylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork and story that will appeal to young children with an interest in Neanderthals or prehistoric history. It would be great for a younger child too for expanding on opposites and actions as it uses a lot of here/there, near/far behind/in front. It also encourages a love of beauty and nature. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young Neanderthal boy explores the world around his new home. This book is easy to read. Young readers may get tired of saying "here" and "there" throughout the book. Few words, but the illustrations speak volumes. Gouache, wax pastels, pencil, charcoal, with a hint of digital. They are stunning--best part of the book. Paired with the right lesson/setting, this book could be great. (Diamond 25-26)

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy Here, Boy There (Hardcover)
by Chuck Groenink
Looking at the life of a Neanderthal child. The book shows how similar to modern children a young Neanderthal boy and his family. How they lived in caves. How they were connected into families. this book is a great resource for showing the youngest children the science of anthropology, and archeology. The book also shows that the remains of these people can tell modern children how they lived.

[Aneshka · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! I loved how the boy referred to the different creatures, like "crawlers," and "big growlers" (aka bears). My favorite scene was when the boy encountered the "big hairs" aka the mammoths and came face to face with an adorable "little hairy" who looked very excited to meet him!
Beautiful illustrations!

I read an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for a review.

[Linda Stopani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautifully illustrated. The simple language is well-suited for the ages it was written for. I think children and adults would both enjoy this story. Boy’s curiosity is endearing and very typical of children. The use of comparing and contrasting was well done.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about an encounter between a Neanderthal boy and a human boy. I loved the beautiful, lush illustrations and joining the boy on his adventure, discovering his gorgeous surroundings.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young Neanderthal boy's family settles in a cave and he wanders off to explore the "there" as opposed to "here". He encounters a multitude of animals including mastodons. Eventually he returns to his family.

Additional info on Neanderthals included.

[lea ❦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favourite reads 🤍 so beautifully illustrated and written. made me a little emotional

[Jared White · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely exploration of the prehistoric world through the eyes of a boy who lived during that time

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4

[Angela De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow a boy on a journey of wonder and exploration, of curiosity and connection. And at the end of a day the overwhelming urge to share discoveries with family.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭😭😭😭💖💖💖

[Amanda Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. I found the verse awkward and unsettling to read aloud.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching book about a neanderthal boy's adventure and experiences with new things.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting topic of early human history presented in an imaginative way with beautiful double-page illustrations.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cave boy explores the world that nature holds, he finds a variety of different creatures both like and unlike him.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neanderthal boy goes out for a day of adventure, and meets a Homo Sapiens boy. It’s brief, but exciting and confusing.

The world here is beautiful, and familiar. Most of the plants and animals look like a pretty standard plains ecosystem. There’s beech trees, long grasses, birds, rodents, a bear, deer, and bugs. And then we meet the wooly mammoth. Such a strange sight! In fact, it’s stranger than the Homo Sapiens boy, unless you have the context of this book already.

If you didn’t know that’s what was happening before you got to the author’s note at the end, you might just think it’s about boys from different families, but the same species. Which is some of the point, the idea that we existed together, different in physical makeup, but similar in abilities and emotions. But I feel like a bit more should have been done to help younger readers realize there was something bigger going on. The Homo Sapiens adults are in only one drawing, and are across a stream, and not too detailed, so the only big difference I noticed is that they all have shoes.

The author’s note is great. We get an idea of the neanderthal temporal range, through which areas they spread, and what their craft and technology level was like. It includes some great drawings of tool shaping and hide processing. Also, I deeply appreciate that we see one mother breastfeeding early in the book, as well as the note mentioning the care taken within the community.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It’s adventurous and also a bit educational.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.