Before You Were Here: Where We Come From, What We’re Made Of, and How We Got Here

The interconnections between self and the universe star in this poetic, science-based work. Making eloquent links (“Before you were here,/ you were waiting...// everywhere”), Westerfeld, making his picture book debut, references the human body’s basis in other entities. Musing quatrains consider how “you” were “once the sunshine,” as well as rain, minerals, and “every living thing.” Using ink, watercolor, and gouache, Lanan’s light-filled renderings follow caregivers and a child across the seasons, on alternating spreads envisioning a developing fetus alongside elements of nature (“Our world is mostly sea, and you are mostly water”). The often metaphorical phrases build to a close that centers empowerment and belonging in a welcoming world. Back matter explores the text’s scientific basis. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)