Is There Really A Human Race?

Hello again!

For my first children's literature blog I am analysing children's poetry.  For my poetry book analysis, I choose the book, "Is There Really A Human Race?".  This children's story is written by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell.  Both Authors are very fascinating and unique in their approach to literature and their concepts of the world, as they take us on a journey through the question, "Is There Really A Human race?".  Let your mind wonder and enjoy!

"Is There Really A Human Race?", really captured my attention due to the reality it brings to life.  Not only does this book give an alternate representation to the human race, it does so in a poetic, comical and creative way.  By questioning the human "race" as if it were a marathon, the authors make us in turn question the human "race" as a population of different ethnicity's.  The authors of this book brought the aspect of race into the picture but also questioned the reality of the human race in a way that showed us how we all have the same equivalency in the difference we can make, no matter our race.  This was a very imaginative twist brought to life, in how we should treat one another fairly and should work together in order for us to come together and create a beautiful world.

This sweet story begins with a little boy asking the questions:

"Is there really a human race?
 Is it going on now all over the place?
 When did it start?
 Who said, "Ready, Set, Go?"
 Did it start on my birthday?
 I really must know."

With these questions our little adventurer is off.  Asking questions and pondering answers about this human "race", which he has never heard of before.  In the ending, this young boy discovers that the human "race", is relishing the journey and making the right choices, because how "we" as a human race live and love is how we learn to make the world a better place, ironically one small "step" at a time.

"So, take what's inside you and make big, bold choices.
 And for those who can speak for themselves,
 Use bold voices.

 And make friends and love well,
 bring art to this place,
 And make the world better,
 For the whole human race."

How sweet this ending is.  The irony of the story is that the little boy is in search of something completly different, when he discovers a life lesson and learns to strive for the best he can be.  This story could not only be used for entertainment purposes but for behavioral and even educational purposes in reguards to how we should treat one another everyday and in everyway.