Published by Crown Books
Summary: Siblings Lucy and Andy, as well as their friends and family, are Neanderthals, which means…what? Two modern scientists appear at the end of each chapter to fill the reader in on how Neanderthals hunted, created tools, communicated, made clothes, and more. There are pertinent comments throughout the story which is a humorous slice-of-life look at several days with the Neanderthals. The family prepares for a big mammoth hunt, goes on the hunt, then turns the dead mammoth into meat and clothes. At the end, the Neanderthals meet up with some humans, who seem to be fabulous new neighbors until Andy overhears them plotting to take over the Neanderthals’ cave. This sets up for book 2 which is previewed on the final few pages. There’s a section at the end with still more Neanderthal information, and a note from the author in which he claims to have read almost 100 books to prepare for the creation of this graphic novel. 224 pages; grades 2-6.
Pros: Far more educational than what I was expecting from the author of Jedi Academy, but don’t worry, there is plenty of fun mixed in as well. This one is guaranteed to fly off the library shelves, and readers will be laughing too much to realize they’re learning, too.
Cons: I prefer some color in my graphic novels.
