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mikimeiko's review against another edition
3.0
Mmm non che sia brutto ma un po' più di subtlety non sarebbe stata male.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
5.0
I added this because of brainpicking's 2019 list of best children's books. The art is quite beautiful... I spent some time on each page looking at how this was illustrated. The first page, where the guns of soldiers were turned into twigs, was extremely poignant. The entire book made me feel really emotional. There are so many ills in the world and this book kind of imagines with a child's simple optimism and idealism, what our world would look like if we had no more wars, poverty, loneliness... There were two pages that were particularly poignant. There was one line where the narrator says,
“We have to hug,” he decided, “and not be afraid of kisses. What if we start saying ‘I love you,’ even if we’ve never heard it before?”
And the last page ends with the child choosing to be born.
I felt really emotional reading this.
“We have to hug,” he decided, “and not be afraid of kisses. What if we start saying ‘I love you,’ even if we’ve never heard it before?”
And the last page ends with the child choosing to be born.
I felt really emotional reading this.
wordnerd153's review against another edition
3.0
A child looks at the world and, upon seeing so much pain, misery and injustice, makes the most important decision of its life - to be born. Originally written in French, this philosophical story will either be adored and celebrated or passed over as too deep for the typical picture book audience. It could spark valuable conversations among upper elementary students, especially if paired with articles on current events and activism. The illustrations are quite striking and deserve to be lingered over.
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