These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Nikkolas Smith - Author
A visually rich shared-history book that links humanity’s beginnings in Africa with creativity, discovery and belonging. Poetry invites reflection, while the timeline adds factual context beyond the main narrative.
The book presents humanity’s beginnings in Africa and develops the idea that people across the world share connected origins.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: Shared ancestry and human connection are treated as central, valuable ideas rather than distant historical facts alone.
Talk about: How might the book’s meaning of “we” include both common origins and present-day differences?
Whose history is remembered
The author’s note positions the work as a response to histories omitted from some textbooks, including early African civilisations, while depicting Black adults and children creating and thriving.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: The book positively foregrounds African beginnings and Black representation as an important part of humanity’s history.
Talk about: What might be gained when histories that have been overlooked are placed at the centre?
Curiosity and human making
The narrative connects early human life with art, music, cultivation, medicine, architecture, travel, exploration and other forms of discovery.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: Curiosity, creativity and collaboration are presented as forces that help people understand and shape their world.
Talk about: Which creation or discovery would you most want to investigate further, and why?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It can open thoughtful conversations about whose histories are foregrounded, how human communities change, and how art, invention and curiosity shape accounts of the past.
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What Deserves Attention
Its compressed treatment may leave limited room for detail or differing interpretations of complex anthropological history.
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A Conversation Worth Having
What does the book mean by “we”? Consider whether its account of shared origins changes how you think about identity, difference and the way history is told.
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Reading Approach
Read the poetic spreads aloud, pause to discuss the questions they raise, then revisit the annotated timeline. Invite the reader to compare the emotional artwork with the factual details.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Shared human origins: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Whose history is remembered: The book’s full treatment of omitted histories, civilisations and possible historical complexities remains unclear.
Curiosity and human making: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Suitabook