It is very rare for a picture book to have two illustrators, but this is the case with Jemmy Button. Even more unusual is the fact that the two artists met online and didn’t share a common language, except that of art.

The result of this unorthodox union is a story, based on true events, about a South American boy who lived in the 1800s. Jemmy is taken to England to be ‘civilised’, and journeys back to his homeland many years later. We later learn in an afterword that he was returned on the Beagle, travelling with Charles Darwin, who intended to study Jemmy back in his natural environment.

This plot will kindle much discussion about the morality of such a social experiment. Yet, regardless of the integrity behind Jemmy’s adventure, the empathetic artwork hauntingly captures his oneness with the natural world and the alienation of the one that he is taken to. Jennifer Uman and Valerio Vidali have created a respectful retelling with rich colour and a naive style that perfectly presents Jemmy’s extraordinary journey.

For ages 4 and up.

Alexa Dretzke