Review: If You Come to Earth

If You Come to Earth
Author & Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
Chronicle Books
Ages: 4 to 8

If You Come to Earth is an amazing book that describes different things found on Earth–everything from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

In a world that sometimes feels like it’s full of hate, it is wonderful to read a book about everyone, and everything, being a beautiful little piece of this planet. 

If You Come to Earth is an amazing book that describes different things found on Earth–everything from the ordinary to the extraordinary.   The conceit is simple. A child writes a letter to “a visitor from outer space,” describing the Earth in great detail.  The child visits various parts of the world along the way. Through the letter, words paint a beautiful picture of what our planet is made up of; our animals, buildings, people, languages, and communities.

As a special educator, I was extremely pleased with the inclusion and diversity throughout this book. Blackall does an amazing job of illustrating various individuals with impairments, illnesses, and/or injuries.  She captures diverse family dynamics, religions, careers, socioeconomic statuses, and cultures. 

Blackall also includes an Author’s Note in which she explains the inspiration for her story. She writes about a group of children she met during her travels around the world in support of UNICEF and Save the Children who gave her ideas of how to explain our world to someone who has never seen it before.

By showing the different types of people, living situations, animals, and natural elements that make up Earth, she encourages everyone to respect one another and to work together to love and protect each other, and everything in our world; and that is what we most need today; regardless of whether we are visiting, or staying on Earth.



If You Come to Earth (Support an Independent Bookstore)
If You Come to Earth (Hardcover at Amazon)*

More books for this Age Group can be found here.

My thanks to Chronicle Books for providing a Review Copy of this book. All opinions provided herein are my own.

Please, leave comments! I love a HEALTHY exchange of ideas. After all, critical thinking is essential to life.

Ashley Borrego-Contributor
Ashley is a teacher, a photographer, crafter, and a small business owner. She lives in Hawaii with her husband, two young children, 170lb Great Dane, and 2 cats. She received her Masters degree in Early Childhood Special Education from University of Maryland, and is pursuing a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. You can checkout her business here.

*Amazon Associates earn from qualifying purchases.

Leave a Reply