Sally Mallam

The art found in this book is inspired by the ancient rock art of Africa. Changes in composition (via collage), perspective, sizing, and coloring help depict this story in a way that is attractively modern but decidedly authentic. I especially liked the fact that she clearly took the cave depictions of people from different regions and different times putting them together as an effective visual metaphor for “all the people in the world.” I believe the author created this story having been inspired by the beauty of the African cave drawings. It is her way of lending a narrative to different sets of ancient images. She includes some history, a map of Africa, and some website information at the end of the book.… (altro)

This is a book that explains human origins, a creation myth. It begins with "More than a thousand million years ago, at a time before time, when space was no space, and when everything was nothing, all that existed was a longing." The story is lyrical and impressive, but also not too hard for young readers. Quite captivating. It attmepts to explain the beginning of the world as we know it, and then moves on to animal and humans. The illustrations are espcially awesome, as they are based on ancient rock art in Africa, colored vibrantly. I read online that the book gots it name from the name given to the stone blocks where the original figure of Dende Maro was found.… (altro)