lovegirl30's review against another edition
4.0
Previously posted on the young girl who loves books.
I expected to love this book as I just took a biological anthropology class but maybe that why I didn't enjoy it that much. I love graphic novels and I love Neanderthals so I am not sure where things went wrong.
Lucy &. Andy Neandertal is a super cute graphic novel which makes aspects of evolution easier for kids to understand. I am not going to get into an evolution debate so don't worry. One of the biggest fears I had, when I jumped into this book when I got home from the library, was that it would have Neandertals show in an unfactual light. To my surprise, Author Jeffery Brown worked to prevent that.
The graphic novel has little short stories from a couple of Neanderthals and actually has facts about how they lived, how the different from us humans, and other fun facts. I thought it was interesting how they were weaved into the storyline of the graphic novel.
The illustrations are so good and fun. Which is so important in a graphic novel and why I am rating this four stars instead of just two. Now coming to the biggest issue I had with the novel which was the humanization images of Neanderthals. I struggled with that all throughout the book. I just couldn't get past that. I do like that Brown told of the differences but I don't think that made up for the images for me.
I expected to love this book as I just took a biological anthropology class but maybe that why I didn't enjoy it that much. I love graphic novels and I love Neanderthals so I am not sure where things went wrong.
Lucy &. Andy Neandertal is a super cute graphic novel which makes aspects of evolution easier for kids to understand. I am not going to get into an evolution debate so don't worry. One of the biggest fears I had, when I jumped into this book when I got home from the library, was that it would have Neandertals show in an unfactual light. To my surprise, Author Jeffery Brown worked to prevent that.
The graphic novel has little short stories from a couple of Neanderthals and actually has facts about how they lived, how the different from us humans, and other fun facts. I thought it was interesting how they were weaved into the storyline of the graphic novel.
The illustrations are so good and fun. Which is so important in a graphic novel and why I am rating this four stars instead of just two. Now coming to the biggest issue I had with the novel which was the humanization images of Neanderthals. I struggled with that all throughout the book. I just couldn't get past that. I do like that Brown told of the differences but I don't think that made up for the images for me.
oneangrylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun and interesting graphic novel. I enjoyed the mix of fictional chapters with factual wrap ups at the end. I can see this sparking an interest in archeology with many of my students. The art is cute and the panels are easy to follow. I know some might not like the black and white format, but it works for this style. This is a quirky addition to our graphic novel collection.
meet_me_in_cognito's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't grab me, but I am also not the target audience. Felt like it was trying to trick me into learning, which I resent.
bookswithzaya's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very adorable story about Lucy and her little brother Andy. The story follows these two Neanderthal children on their many different adventures. The best part of this book, besides all the jokes, is all the real information given. Brown does a wonderful job adding nonfiction facts into this very fictional story. I would love to read this to my kids someday. Great job Jeffrey Brown, well-done sir.
------quotes
-good eye, but terrible facial recognition
-walk more than ten miles away to get better rocks that could be made into higher-quality tools
-Er, no please don't spit on the stones
-Why are you looking at me like that? I'm still dreaming.
-Yes, I'm having a nightmare.
-Scientists heat the stone so it gives off light. By measuring the amount of light, they can tell about how long ago the tool was made.
-Pitch is hard to make, so Neanderthals must have been smart and skilled to be able to make it
-You're making that face at me again
-Now I'm going to throw up. What did you two do-go and plant berries, then wait for them to grow?
-You didn't try to hunt the water with that spear did you?
-Our cave has the weirdest kids
-Most Neanderthals were right-handed
-It was a nice throw. But a bad catch.
-But I don't have your natural strength to carry it
-I know how you feel. They took my stick away, too.
-We can tell by the way they carefully buried their children
-I was wondering the same thing
-First clear evidence of cooking with spices: 6,000 years ago
-Oh, now you want me to be your assistant?!
-Thank you I will treasure this
-chewing on animal skins softened them, making them easier to work on
-twisted plant fibers were used as string
-Humans may have raised orphaned wolf pups
------quotes
-good eye, but terrible facial recognition
-walk more than ten miles away to get better rocks that could be made into higher-quality tools
-Er, no please don't spit on the stones
-Why are you looking at me like that? I'm still dreaming.
-Yes, I'm having a nightmare.
-Scientists heat the stone so it gives off light. By measuring the amount of light, they can tell about how long ago the tool was made.
-Pitch is hard to make, so Neanderthals must have been smart and skilled to be able to make it
-You're making that face at me again
-Now I'm going to throw up. What did you two do-go and plant berries, then wait for them to grow?
-You didn't try to hunt the water with that spear did you?
-Our cave has the weirdest kids
-Most Neanderthals were right-handed
-It was a nice throw. But a bad catch.
-But I don't have your natural strength to carry it
-I know how you feel. They took my stick away, too.
-We can tell by the way they carefully buried their children
-I was wondering the same thing
-First clear evidence of cooking with spices: 6,000 years ago
-Oh, now you want me to be your assistant?!
-Thank you I will treasure this
-chewing on animal skins softened them, making them easier to work on
-twisted plant fibers were used as string
-Humans may have raised orphaned wolf pups
levibaus's review against another edition
4.0
This was an awesome (and informative) read! I have been mulling around some ideas for a story based in the good ol' Neanderthal days, so I figured I would see what this book was about. It was a fun way to learn a little more about that time period.
The drawings were fun and the story had some great humor intertwined. Plus, I appreciated how Jeffrey used some of the unknowns to add fun little details. I found myself laughing several times!
The drawings were fun and the story had some great humor intertwined. Plus, I appreciated how Jeffrey used some of the unknowns to add fun little details. I found myself laughing several times!
knallen's review against another edition
4.0
I received this as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Honestly, I didn't even wait to finish the entire book before I ordered this for my library. It is adorable. The art is really cute and humorous as is the dialogue. It does a great job of informing kids without boring them. The information is good and it's delivered in such a great way. The book is separated into 'chapters' or 'issues' so that kids can pick one piece of the stone age to learn at a time. It also debunks some of the myths about the period and provides correct information.
Honestly, I didn't even wait to finish the entire book before I ordered this for my library. It is adorable. The art is really cute and humorous as is the dialogue. It does a great job of informing kids without boring them. The information is good and it's delivered in such a great way. The book is separated into 'chapters' or 'issues' so that kids can pick one piece of the stone age to learn at a time. It also debunks some of the myths about the period and provides correct information.
antlersantlers's review against another edition
4.0
This rating/review is based on an ARC from the publisher.
I already love Jeffrey Brown a lot and this is just really lovely. Once we actually get copies on the shelves I will definitely booktalk it to tweens constantly!
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal is the story of two neanderthal kids living in a cave with their family. There is a mammoth hunt (which they are not allowed to go on), cave painting, miscellaneous gathering, and all kinds of other stone age hijinks.
My favorite part is the interjections from the two present-day scientists. They pop in to say "Hmm they probably wouldn't have had a pet cat but..." and introduce actual evidence about what we know of neanderthal life. Brown also emphasizes how much our knowledge of neanderthals has changed and evolved over time, and he personally has a goodreads shelf of almost 100 books of Lucy-Andy research. I really enjoyed the actual neanderthal timeline and the pop culture neanderthal timeline, but the best part was definitely the (relatively) stealth science throughout.
This is a bit of a spoiler for the second chunk of the book but
I already love Jeffrey Brown a lot and this is just really lovely. Once we actually get copies on the shelves I will definitely booktalk it to tweens constantly!
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal is the story of two neanderthal kids living in a cave with their family. There is a mammoth hunt (which they are not allowed to go on), cave painting, miscellaneous gathering, and all kinds of other stone age hijinks.
My favorite part is the interjections from the two present-day scientists. They pop in to say "Hmm they probably wouldn't have had a pet cat but..." and introduce actual evidence about what we know of neanderthal life. Brown also emphasizes how much our knowledge of neanderthals has changed and evolved over time, and he personally has a goodreads shelf of almost 100 books of Lucy-Andy research. I really enjoyed the actual neanderthal timeline and the pop culture neanderthal timeline, but the best part was definitely the (relatively) stealth science throughout.
This is a bit of a spoiler for the second chunk of the book but
Spoiler
Jeffrey Brown drawing neanderthals vs. humans is super funny. He draws the neanderthals how he draws most people in all his comics: squat, big heads, and not a lot of chin. But then he has to visually differentiate neanderthals from early humans so he has to emphasize their height, narrower heads, and chins! It was pretty delightful, but also the version I saw didn't have the final art so I'll check in with the published version to see how it turns out. On that note, the last half of the ARC without the final art did have that classic Jeffrey Brown minimal pen drawing style. I love what he's doing with color and markers and stuff, but it's also really nice to see a return to his early style that I know and love a lot.corncobwebs's review against another edition
A fun mix of stories and science! It's a little heavy on the science lessons at the end, but I really enjoyed the stories with Lucy and Andy and all the supporting characters. This would be a good STEM tie-in!
marierossi's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely learned a lot about Neanderthals that's for sure. I thought Brown did a pretty good job of putting in facts without getting too educational and I can see a lot of elementary age kids liking this book.