Blog Tour: Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers + Guest Post

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Here We Are
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Reading Level: Picture Book
Genre: Contemporary
Released: November 2017
Review Source: Penguin Young Readers

Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you’ve only just got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let’s explore what makes our planet and how we live on it.

From land and sky, to people and time, these notes can be your guide and start you on your journey. And you’ll figure lots of things out for yourself. Just remember to leave notes for everyone else...

Some things about our planet are pretty complicated, but things can be simple, too: there are lots of us on here, so be kind.

Creatures that Live in Thin Air

Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers is a sweet book that introduces kids to the world, our world. Children are able to learn about space, our land, the sea, air and other facts about our planet. So to add to this introduction, I thought it would be great to talk about couple of creatures that live in thin air.

Alpine swift are known to be able to stay aloft in the air for up to seven months! They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. They drink on the wing, but roost on vertical cliffs or walls.

Llamas! Yes, these creatures live in grassy open spaces at very high altitudes of 7,400 - 12,800 feet. They have more red blood cells per unit volume of blood than any other mammal.

Himalayan marmot is a marmot found  throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau at elevation from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft). They dig large burrows, which generally restricts them to areas with light-textured and adequately deep soil.

Yak (Bos mutus) are  long-haired domesticated bovid in which their coat helps to insulate them in their cold environment. They can lives up to 6,100 m (20,000 ft) and make their homes in treeless areas which are on mountains and plateaus.. Their horns are used to break through the snow and reach
plants.

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Oliver Jeffers makes art.

From figurative painting and installation to illustration and picture-book making, Oliver Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in multiple cities, including Lazarides Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Brooklyn Museum and Spring Break Fair (Armory Week) in New York, and Gestalten Space in Berlin.

Oliver’s picture books — including The Incredible Book Eating Boy,  This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day Crayons Quit  and its sequel The Day The Crayons Came Home ( both #1 NYTimes Bestsellers)  and Once Upon an Alphabet — have been translated into over 30 languages. Working in collaboration with Studio AKA, Oliver’s second book Lost and Found was developed into an animated short film that has received over sixty awards, including a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film.

Picture book awards include the The New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Smarties Award, Irish Book of the Year, The Red House Book Award, British Book Design Award, and The Blue Peter Book of the Year. Oliver won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo. In 2013 Oliver co-directed with Mac Premo the video for Ordinary Love by U2, and more recently made art for, and helped art direct, U2’s Innocence and Experience World Tour.

Oliver is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.