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Is There Anybody Out There?: Interplanetary Questions for Intelligent Earthlings

by Ellen Duthie

A book built from questions about being human

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Regular price $25.40 USD Sale price $15.24 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Publishers Weekly

    Praise describing the book as suited to young readers beginning to engage with big ideas.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A book built from questions about being human

An imagined message from the planet Bibopia gives this book its frame: extraterrestrial visitors pose questions to people on Earth, and the pages respond with more questions rather than a set of answers. The topics range from personal identity and gender to knowledge, social differences, art, coexistence, and how people understand their world. That question-led structure makes the book a starting point for reflection and conversation, with room for readers to bring their own answers—and questions—to the discussion.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Children ages 9–12 curious about big philosophical questions.
  • Families or groups looking for prompts to discuss identity, knowledge, and how people live together.
  • Young readers interested in books that invite questions more than they provide definitive answers.

Themes

Philosophical curiosityIdentity and genderKnowledge and understandingCoexistence and social differencesArt and the human world

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"Tailor-made for young minds beginning to grapple with big ideas." --Publishers Weekly

* Winner, White Ravens, 2022 * Best Publishing Project, Premio Andersen, 2023 * Best Books for Children and Young People, El Banco del Libro, 2023

Is There Anybody Out There?is an introduction to philosophical curiosity sent to planet Earth from the planet Bibopia, with love. The aliens have asked us questions about many different topics, but certainly not about all topics; perhaps we can come up with some too.

Who would have thought that the first extraterrestrial message received on Earth verified by the scientific community would come in the form of a book? And who could have imagined, when opening the book in search of answers, that it would be composed only of questions?

Questions, questions, and more questions!

What is it like to be human? And what is it like to be you? What is the purpose of gender? How do you know what you know? Is Earth a good home? How do you humans get along? Who names the world on Earth? And, on Earth, does 2+2 always equal 4? And much more.

This book for intelligent earthlings (of different ages and heights) poses questions about identity, gender, coexistence, social differences, art, and a long etcetera of topics that say so much about humanity and make us stop to think about our way of understanding and inhabiting the world. With a style as intelligent and rigorous as it is fun and playful, Is There Anybody Out There? is a book to awaken curiosity, conversation, reflection, and debate.
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