Cave Paintings

by Jairo Buitrago, Rafael Yockteng (Illustrator), Elisa Amado (Translator)

Our hero travels all alone on a spaceship, through the universe, past galaxies, comets and planets to go visit his grandmother on Earth for the summer holidays. She takes him to visit an ancient cave, where he discovers handprints and drawings of unknown animals made by human beings, just like him. To top off his wonderful holiday she gives him mysterious objects which once belonged to his grandfather — paper and crayons. On the way home he draws what he saw on his travels — to the amazement of his fellow passengers.

Jairo Buitrago’s story reminds us of what remains as everything changes. Rafael Yockteng’s fabulous art, a tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, presents us a wonderful, diverse future in which space travel is common, though knowledge of the past is still a secret treasure to be discovered.

Genres: Picture Books, Science Fiction, Art, Space, Family, Childrens, Fiction

52 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Jairo Buitrago lives in Mexico City and is the author of Jimmy the Greatest, Two White Rabbits, Walk with Me, Cave Paintings, among others—all of which have earned many starred reviews. His most recent books are Wounded Falcons and Drawing Outdoors.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't quite understand this book. The text says that the grandmother gave the grandson presents that have been passed down from grandfather to grandfather. The present appears to be colored pencils. But what is with the drawing of the naked woman? Is that supposed to be the grandmother when she was younger? Did the grandfather draw her? Is this picture of a naked grandmother being passed down to the grandson? Why is the grandmother holding the picture of the naked woman in her hands and laughing? I hope the grandson didn't draw the picture of his naked grandmother and then give it to his grandmother. No matter what the author/illustrator were thinking, I think, it's inappropriate.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Odd book..it might have been better if it was wordless. Kids would have fun coming up with a story with all the aliens and extraterrestrial characters. But why was a drawing of a naked woman included in this story? It appears when grandma is handing down crayons, colored pencils and old drawings to her grandson that used to belong to great grandparents. So why was she showing her grandson a drawing of a naked woman...was it her? Did her husband draw it of her? Hopefully her grandfather did not draw it. Too many whys and it would pose too many unwanted questions during story time. Surprised this was a starred review from Horn Book.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book has a cool concept about art. From the oldest cave painting to a child in the distant future coloring with pencils passed down generations. Crazy to think that art forms we find commonplace, such as children drawing with crayons, could become obsolete. To all the haters rating this book poorly bc there is a drawing of a naked woman, shame on you. Studying the human figure, including NUDE FIGURES, is one of the most basic forms of art! Would you censor the David of Michelangelo because of his penis? The correct answer is no. I actually laughed at the drawing. I imagined grandma asking grandpa to paint her like one of his french girls. I'd like to think this book is portraying a future world that isn't full of a bunch of prudes freaking out about nudity.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the art but the story was so so weak.

[Jennifer Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but a strange tale. Who is this book aimed at? Surely not the picture book crowd.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very unusual book. It's also scary. But I'm really surprised at the reviews here. It's the story of a boy, Earth-origin in heritage, living on a different planet in a different galaxy, who goes to earth to visit his grandmother. She takes him to explore a cave where he sees early cave paintings made by early man, including the imprint of a human hand. It makes me want to cry. The theme is that all is possible. It does go further than my comfort zone allows me to imagine. I find the thought of us really living somewhere other than our beloved Earth to be discomfiting to say the least. And Earth, when he gets there, is populated by alien creatures. And this book depicts it like it's already true. It's a vision of an imagined future. The artwork is wonderful. It's interesting that folks got so hung up and excited about what is clearly an anatomy study from a life drawing class. It goes with the colored pencils. It's hand made artwork versus digital. I am more hung up on what the green character at the back of the space plane is eating. I also wasn't sure what the blue glass shape with the woman in it that the boy had on his lap in the plane was. Was it his grandmother or his mother teleported? Anyhow just goes to show where our minds are. I thought it was daring, and adventurous, and very unsettling. And the art is terrific.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blastoff and into the future that takes a look back in time in this translation from Spanish.

The boy rides the spacecraft across the universe to spend his holidays with his beloved grandmother. Together, they explore wonders on Earth, including beautiful waterfalls and ancient cave paintings (similar to those in Lascaux, France). She gives him a marvelous gift: a set of color pencils that had belonged to his grandfather's grandfather and paper to draw on.

Buitrago's out-of-this-world story is magnificent! He has envisioned a diverse world in the future and "peopled" it with a curious child full of awe and innocence going to visit his loving grandmother. The pacing is wonderful, and the message is on-target.

Illustrations by Rafael Yockteng are memorable, as his artwork always is. Rendered digitally, Yockteng includes a nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey in the image of the space station. Space is depicted as dark and expansive, with beautiful features such as the giant spiral Milky Way galaxy. The aliens from space are very creatively shown; some bird-like, some like insects or slugs, some yetis, some robotic, and some humanoid with four eyes. Most are bipeds. Incredible!

A sci fi hit!

Highly Recommended for PreSchool-grade 2.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Childrens picture book. This translation from the original Spanish was a strange story that was beautifully illustrated. A young boy is off to visit his grandmother for a holiday. But while the boy looks human, he lives on another planet and is surrounded by other creatures at the transport station (seems weird to call it an airport). He travels to the farthest planet, traveling all the way to Earth. As on his home planet, Earth is populated by a mix of humans, animal bipeds, and alien/ monster creatures. With his grandmother, he visits historic cave paintings. When they return to her home, she introduces him to paper and pencils, and on his long journey home he starts to draw. Others have mentioned that this book may have worked better as a wordless book-- I can't argue that. There was also the point made that the title seems to be related to a small part of the story. As I said, it is a strange story, but could be used to talk about what we think outer space is like, things we have been passed down from other family members, or even just taking a journey on our own. The random nude drawing the grandmother possesses of herself in her prime is a bit off-putting, but not nearly enough to rail against the whole book.

[Alissa Tsaparikos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an imaginative and strange story of a young boy traveling through the cosmos to visit his grandmother on earth. Children who travel long distances to see family will be able to connect with the main character's experiences, even if it is futuristic and filled with aliens and space travel. It does have an odd moment in illustrations where the grandmother is sharing old drawings the young boy's grandfather did and it includes what looks like a naked picture of the grandmother. There isn't enough detail to be considered obscene, but I don't think it really adds anything to the story and therefore was really an unneeded addition. It would not be something I'd want to use in a storytime because of it.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a very different picture book that definitely gives readers a lot to think about. At first it seems like a simple story of a boy in the future going to visit his grandmother with fun extraterrestrial details throughout, But the ending, at first seemingly simple, is real mental kick in the pants and I've been thinking it about ever since.

The more I think about the more I like this!

What an intriguing writing or discussion prompt this would be! This deceptively simple book offers so many fascinating mental roads to travel.

Highly recommended.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why? Why? Why?
This is a great story set in the future with gorgeous illustrations and ONE BIG PROBLEM!
On the page where the grandmother is giving the boy things from his grandfather, there is a small picture of a NAKED WOMAN!
Who was this book written for?
Do we really want this book on our shelves? In picture books, no less??

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ---I LOVED the illustrations. A full five stars for the delightfully wacky and creative space creatures, vehicles, and environments. However, the text was extremely odd, stilted, and choppy. Honestly, this would have worked so much better as a wordless book. I could see young readers coming up with some pretty amusing stories of their own had this one ditched the text altogether.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

A boy travels from his planet to visit his grandmother on Earth for the holidays. She takes him to see ancient cave drawings, and sends him home with a gift to remember his trip.

A colored pencil drawing of a naked woman (his grandmother maybe) just made this already odd book even stranger, and inappropriate for a picture book audience.

Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunate. SF aspect felt 'trippy.' And the hand in the cave painting should have been written (translated?) as "person's" instead of "man's"... or as "woman's" because it was most likely a woman's. Theme about mankind's instinct for art is interesting. No back matter, of course, as it's pure silly speculation.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is one of those books that is meant to tell a story on some higher level, metaphysical way but for a simple brain like mine looking for a good story, it just fell flat. I finished the book with the thought, "I don't get it". Lots of weird stuff.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes the idea of a child flying across the country by themselves to a whole new level. Instead of going from one state to another, the main character travels across the galaxy in order to visit his grandmother. I loved the illustrations!

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge fan of _Two White Rabbits_, I was really excited to read this book. I appreciated aspects of the story and the art, but the timeline is a little strange. I would be interested in pairing this book with Jon Hare's _Field Trip to the Moon_.

[Viviana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm super confused whether the grandmother gave the grandchild old paintings of her...not just normal paintings().()..or was it just the colored pencil set..anyway, it was on the table where the child could at least possibly see..
* Ok, lol, I'm not the only one that thinks it's off

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange little book with much to ponder.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ponderous tale about space and time with wonderfully imaginative illustrations by Rafael Yockteng.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise of it being so far into the future that you go back to Earth to visit your grandparents and that today's advancements are to the child as cave drawings are to us today.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely differently but I really enjoyed it. I wish the author had focused on the cave paintings a bit more. The title didn't really suit the story at large.

[Jj · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did enjoy the illustrations, but it feels like a LOT was lost in translation here... or is it just confusing in and of itself? I would love to know how it compares to the original story in Spanish.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of reminds me a bit of The Little Prince.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who adore aliens and space travel.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amazing illustrations but it felt dumb

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange book. Loved the illustrations until I saw the naked woman, what is that even in there for? Interesting concept, not done well.

[Kate prefers books to people · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is weird. The art is very good but maybe not appropriate for the level reader who would be interested in the story. We made up our own story.

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting illustrations. The boy travels the universe to see his grandmother and enjoys the experiencing new places.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*