1. Domestic life
2. Empathy
3. Families
4. Friendship
5. Human rights
6. Imagination
7. Kindness
8. Letters
9. Perspectives
10. Relationships
11. Respect
12. Social justice
13. Social life and customs
14. Tolerance

This picture book opens with a child writing a letter, ‘Dear Visitor from Outer Space, if you come to Earth, here’s what you need to know.’ The author offers a series of microscopic perspectives on the world’s people, animals, places, transport and more. Meanwhile she details our common humanity while celebrating our differences. The large double page spreads are a visual feast celebrating different cultures, modes of travel, types of sea creatures, animals, birds and more.

Here is an opening line: ‘The Sea looks empty,’ then with a turn of the page, there is a huge array of sea creatures. ‘Grown-ups do lots of things to make the world work’ and displayed are forty small portraits of people across the world engaged in various activities, dressed in different clothes and displaying their work and leisure activities.

There is an inbuilt social conscience in both words and images, such as the double page with twenty-three culturally different people sitting around a large table with various foods. The words say, ‘Whatever we are doing, we need to eat when we are hungry. Some of us have more food than others. We all need food and water to survive.’ Another example of this book’s gentle powers of observation shows soldiers fighting while the text says, ‘Sometimes we hurt each other’ then ‘It’s better when we help each other.’ As you might anticipate in a children’s book, the ending features a young child writing a message to the potential visitor from outer space, ‘If you come to Earth, you can stay in my room.’

Sophie Blackwell explains the genesis of this book. When visiting a school on top of the Himalayan Mountain in Bhutan and other places around the world, she found stories brought people together despite social differences. She found inspiration in thoughts and ideas from children, many of which feature in this book.

‘If You Come to Earth’ also appears in the Cultural Diversity Database.

1. #BNStorytime 26 Sept 2020 ‘Sophie Blackall reads IF YOU COME TO EARTH’ #BNStorytime 26 Sept 2020 ‘Sophie Blackall reads IF YOU COME TO EARTH’
2. The Children’s Book Review, Bianca Schulz ‘Interview with Author-Illustrator Sophie Blackall’ https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/2020/09/sophie-blackall-discusses-if-you-come-to-earth
3. themarginalian Maria Popova comments on Sophie Blackall’s ‘If You Come to Earth’ https://www.themarginalian.org/2020/12/05/if-you-come-to-earth-sophie-blackall/
4. The TeachingBooks Blog 5 Jan 2021 includes teaching activities relating to Sophie Blackall’s ‘If You Come to Earth’ https://forum.teachingbooks.net/2021/01/sophie-blackall-on-if-you-come-to-earth/
5. Kirkus review 30 June 2020 Sophie Blackall ‘If You Come to Earth’ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sophie-blackall/if-you-come-to-earth/
6. KnowItAll South Carolina ETV, ‘Sophie Blackall – Illustrating Children’s Books l Story fest,’ 15-minute video featuring Sophie Blackall talking about her work in different books https://www.knowitall.org/video/sophie-blackall-illustrating-childrens-books-storyfest