We, the Curious Ones
Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Hari & Deepti
Walker Studio

Story and science and their unlikely interconnectedness help us all find meaning in human existence. This symbiotic relationship is explored in the author’s lyrical prose and the two illustrators’ dreamy cut paper art in this book. They take readers on a sweeping journey through time that looks at our evolving understanding of the universe starting from creation mythology …

right through to our current and still growing understanding and knowledge.

We see that to humans, Earth was once considered the centre of the universe, then it was thought of as a planet that revolves around the Sun, next the Sun was considered to be one of billions of stars

and eventually, Earth became seen as one of numerous planets, a medium sized one ‘circling an average star in an ordinary galaxy in an unimaginably vast universe’ a universe that is ‘mostly dark and seems almost empty.’ The designer’s considered choice of a small font might be seen as a metaphor for how very tiny human beings are in this universe and the whole book invites us to think deeply, ask big questions and keep an open mind as new ideas continue to emerge. Awe and wonder – yes but so much more.

There’s a lengthy afterword that finishes thus: ‘We are the storytellers. / We are the curious ones.’ May it ever be so. A book to share and discuss with readers in primary classrooms and beyond, as well as in the home.