- Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

Oliver Jeffries creates such beautiful content and this is the type of book that can be enjoyed by all ages throughout generations! My nieces can't fully read the text yet, but they love it so much and it has become one of their favorites to pull for a bedtime story. It's well-written, educational/informative, and really touches the heart if you're someone who has an affinity towards environmentalism. I'm considering buying another one for my own book collection!

Love this book! I give it to every new parent I know.

Everything begins as zoomed out as you can imagine and it gets smaller and deeper as you go. Pages have just a sentence or two each, and the illustrations can leave you on that page for a looong time without words. I love books like this. Engaging, concise, profound and INCREDIBLE illustrations. Going to look at all of this author-illustrator's other works.

This is one of our favorite books, both for the sweet messages and the gorgeous and detailed pictures. My two year old son has a pretty short attention span when it comes to books, but will look at certain pages of this book for 10+ minutes (which for a toddler is pretty amazing). There are so many little details to discover in each illustration and he loves to point them out and try out new words as he learns then. The messaging of the book is still a little over his head, but that’s totally okay—for now I read it to him and I enjoy getting choked up at ideas like, “you’ll never be truly alone here on earth,” and he enjoys looking at the pictures of animals people, city scenes, ocean scenes, etc. I feel like this book will grow with him as he gets older and can understand it more too. Just a great addition to your kids’ library.

I love reading this book aloud to our PreK-3rd grade classes. It has enough detail to keep the children captivated and humor to keep the adults entertained as well. One of my favorites to read when we do Space and Earth Day themes.

"Here We Are" by Oliver Jeffers is a heartwarming exploration of life on Earth, blending gentle observations with whimsical illustrations to celebrate the beauty and diversity of our planet. Through its accessible narrative and evocative artwork, the book imparts important lessons about kindness, empathy, and connection, making it a timeless treasure for readers of all ages.

I preordered this book because it looked great. We have most of Oliver Jeffers’ books, and I was excited to see a more “nonfiction” one. I enjoy his distinctive illustrations and sense of humor very much. The pictures do not disappoint. They fill the pages with striking contrast and color and do a great job at conveying the scale of Earth for little kids. My 2-year old especially liked the pages that had moons on them. :) My 7-year old and 5-year old enjoyed looking at this, but they weren’t particularly captivated by the text. Overall, great concept and the illustrations can’t be beat. Knocking off a star because the story is somewhat lacking (it’s no How The Crayons Quit or Lost and Found), but it is more about the illustrations and showcasing the different parts of our world. It’s a big plus that the narrator is ambiguous in race and gender (even though Jeffers wrote this as a father to his son, and it kind of looks like a man in one picture), but it could be for anyone. The overall message is quite sweet, and I enjoyed the page with all the diverse humans. I also would love to see this in sturdy board book format.

We are Oliver Jeffers fans. I can't say we've read them ALL, but 3 or 4 of them and we like his clever style and artwork. This, however, is the first one that I was a little surprised by and had to think about for a minute as a part of our home library. The page of all the different people in the world includes a lesbian couple in wedding clothes. They are small and on a 2 page spread of a huge crowd of people so my children haven't even asked about it. While this does not coincide with our beliefs (we believe in marriage for one man with one woman), I have concluded that the author is simply representing people in the world from all their varying styles, cultures, lifestyles, etc. And we recognize these are the people around us, whom we should love and with whom we hope to share the truth in love. It certainly is a talking point for our family, just hopefully not something the kids notice for a while. While it would be my preference to not have this image included in this book, I assume the author is just showing the world as it is and being inclusive. I didn't find it pushy as it doesn't have anything to do with the story line directly, just simply a matter of fact sort of picture. But just wanted to help those interested in this book be aware.

A lovely book about the world and our place in it as people, perfectly aimed at young people learning their place in the world and working out how the world works and the people around them. Both our older and younger children like it and love the drawings (they are not really big enough to entirely understand all the concepts but some they caught on surprisingly fast). This is a book that we will be coming back to time and again for the foreseeable future from the looks of it. Definitely a recommendation for any person, young or old! :)

Another amazing book from Oliver Jeffers! We already have his How to catch a star book! The drawing, illustration are so so good! My 3 year old love this book so much! It encourages kids to think about our planet and takes them through where we are in this universe and give their little minds a lot to imagine and think about existence!

Really a nice book with beautiful illustrations and go summary of what the world is. Watch the animation based on this book and it help kids connect with the story more and make them to ask questions.

I love this book. My son loves this book. I've purchased this book multiple times, every time someone I know has a baby. The concept is great. The illustration is great. Infact all of Oliver Jeffers books are great. Fangirl here.

Love this book: its message and especially the art. Great gift for new parents (and their kids).