Is There Really a Human Race? | 
| Author: Jamie Lee Curtis
Creator: Laura Cornell
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy Used: $1.63
You Save: $15.36 (90%)
New (38) Used (44) Collectible (9) from $1.63
Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 45323
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Baby-Preschool
Pages: 40
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 9.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 0060753463
EAN: 9780060753467
ASIN: 0060753463
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 hero's imagination is off and running. Is the human race an obstacle course? Is it a spirit? Does he get his own lane? Does he get his own coach? Written with Jamie Lee Curtis's humor and heart and illustrated with Laura Cornell's worldly wit, Is There Really a Human Race? Is all about relishing the journey and making good choices along the way—because how we live and how we love is how we learn to make the world a better place, one small step at a time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Good June 25, 2009
P. Smith (Wisconsin)
Good, I enjoyed it and of course the illustrations are marvelous and it's a great message. The problem is that my three-year-old wants to read it, but he just doesn't really get it. The jokes a little over his head. Of course it's a great message for him, but it seems to be written a little bit above him. It's like he wants to like it, but.... Hopefully when he gets older, this will be a good one.
Do Your Best to Help Others: Answering an Old Question Coming from a Child's Naive Perspective November 3, 2008
Professor Donald Mitchell (Boston)
One of the great things about children is the way they can take words literally . . . and give us a new perspective on life as we stop to think about the words we employ for well-understood adult idiomatic expressions. "Is there really a human race?" might thus be seen as a literal question about all the racing around that children see around them, as perhaps reinforced by television shows like The Amazing Race and other reality show competitions. Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell take that literalness and turn it into motherly wisdom for a child who's concerned about what it means to be in so much competition.
As I looked at the second two-page spread in the book, I had to laugh aloud as I saw the vision of people racing through what looked a lot like Central Park in New York City while mom and child sit on a park bench. I have often wondered why New Yorkers walk so fast . . . and now here is a story that picked up on that.
From there, the child asks mom a series of naive questions about the race:
"Did it start on my birthday?"
"Do I warm up and stretch?"
"If the race is a relay, is Dad on my team?"
"Am I a jockey or am I a horse?"
"Is there pushing and shoving to get to the lead?"
"If the race is unfair; will I succeed?"
"Do some of us lose?"
"What am I winning?"
"And why do I do it, this zillion-yard dash?"
Mom then provides a bit of perspective:
"Sometimes it's better not to go fast. There are beautiful sights to be seen when you're last."
"Shouldn't it be that you just try your best?"
"Shouldn't it be looking back at the end that you judge your own race by the help that you lend?"
"So take what's inside of you and make big, hard choices. And for those who can't speak for themselves, use bold voices."
"And make the world better for the whole human race."
As you can see, the book turns back to the subject of brotherhood without getting stuck tricky philosophical bases. Instead, brotherhood is just presented as the way to go. Very nice!
As charming as the words are, the illustrations are critical to this story and carry it forward much more powerfully than any words alone could do. As usual, Ms. Cornell gives both panoramic images and tiny details that will intrigue the most observant young child. As an example of the detailed humor, the child's backpack has an open package in it. If you look closely and turn the page, you can see that these are "Nutrition Patches . . . No Need to Stop and Eat . . . Eat and Run!" Now, even a sober-sided adult who doesn't like to read to children can appreciate humor like that.
To me, the best aspect of the book is that the story and illustrations open the doors for a nice discussion between parent (or grandparent) and child. Too many children's books try to exclude the reader from having a role as a discussion leader. I would describe this book as being designed to be a discussion starter. And it's a discussion that is good to have . . . getting out of the rat race so you can join the human race.
Slow down, make good choices, help others, and enjoy!
Mismatched Title... September 20, 2008
B. Horn (Rural Missouri)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mu problem with this book is that the title really has nothing to do with the content. Maybe I'm just being picky, but before I read the book to my sons, I prefaced it with telling them what "Human Race" means--people as a whole, or all the people in the world. I was expecting and hoping to see a message about how people are really just people, regardless of color, physical differences, etc. But as I read the book, we quickly realized that the book isn't really about "The Human Race". I LOVE, LOVE the message of the book-take time to enjoy the journey of life, don't get caught up in winning or losing, etc. But the title and the message seemed incongruous to us. That certainly doesn't really effect the value of the story or message, and the book itself is very fun to read and listen to. But it really has nothing to do with what most people mean when they use the term "Human Race".
Clever book for thinkers April 28, 2008
R. G. Rawls (McK, TX)
Jamie Lee is very clever with her wordings and rhymes. The illustrations are very eye-catching. Always looking for a new way to challenge and stimulate children's minds....this is it!
 Most of it's great. January 29, 2008
Robert P. Beveridge (Cleveland, OH)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Jamie Lee Curtis, Is There Really a Human Race? (Joanna Cotler Books, 2006)
Man, this book started off so well. Of its thirty-two pages, fully twenty-six of them are great stuff. Playing on the multiple meanings of the word "race", Curtis asks all sorts of amusing questions about humanity. While it does get a tad overbearing at times with the moralizing ("If the race is unfair, will I succeed?" comes flying out of nowhere, for example), it's quick, funny, and wonderfully illustrated by Laura Cornell. Unfortunately, then come the last six pages, where Curtis tosses away the metaphor and dives straight into the moralizing. Show Don't Tell is gasping by the wayside, obviously not having the lung capacity to finish. Sense of Subtlety got knocked over the head by an unscrupulous racer and is lying in the gutter, quietly sobbing. Not Talking Down to Kids lost his jockey and bolted for the track bar. Moralizing and Sanctimoniousness hit the wire in a dead heat.
Still, the first bit's worth it. **
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