Up Above and Down Below

by Paloma Valdivia, Susan Ouriou (Translator)

There are differetn kinds of people in the world. Some live up above and some live down below. But what if they all turn themselves upside down?

En el mundo existen dos tipos de habitantes: los de arriba y los de abajo. Los de arriba viven igual que los de abajo. Y los de abajo viven igual que los de arriba, pero al revés.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Geography

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Diseñadora de la Universidad Católica. Egresada 2001 con distinción máxima. Posgraduada en ilustración 2006, EINA, Barcelona, España. Ganadora premio internacional de ilustración BIB PLAQUE 2001, XVIII Bienal de ilustración de Eslovaquia.
Vivió y trabajó en Barcelona, colaborando con medios gráficos chilenos e internacionales de gran difusión (España, México, Singapur, Francia).
Entre sus proyectos realizados destacan: La serie Kiwala conoce el mar (seleccionado para el maletín literario 2008 y nominado a Altazor) y la colección de cuentos infantiles Cuento contigo (CEP-Copec). Es miembro fundador del Colectivo de ilustradores Siete Rayas.
Cabe destacar también que ha comenzado a escribir e ilustrar sus propios libros para niños. El primero de ellos, Los de arriba y los de abajo ha sido publicado por Kalandraka, España 2009 y Es así próximo a publicar por el Fondo de Cultura Eonómica, México 2010.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story about how we're different and the same as the people on the other side (underneath us) of the world. Might be confusing for little ones, but good for preschool. Exploration of the illustrations will add to the effectiveness of the reading.

[Emily Bruns · Rating 3 out of 5]

The people from up above and the people from down below both view each other as different. This clever book explores the differences between living on the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth without directly showing earth until the end.

I would use this as a read aloud in 1st and 2nd grade to get students to think about the differences and similarities that the northern and southern hemispheres share.

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five-year-old is interested in travel, globes, and other countries, so I thought this book might intrigue him. He definitely was interested in the illustrations, and we found a lot to talk about in the quirky, highly stylized, almost surrealist drawings. The actual concept of "up above and down below" went over his head a bit, but I think if we read it and talk about it a couple more times he will mostly understand what the book is getting at.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! Illustrations by the author give us a gallery of fabulous characters, some living 'up above' a line that represents the equator, and some living 'down below'. The text touches on how one hemisphere experiences summer while the other experiences winter, but the deeper message is how much we all share, no matter our location.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just weird. I get that the author is trying to teach that people have more in common than they have differences, but the entire thing - story and pictures - is just weird and I won't be using it in story time.

[Elene Figuer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un cuento perfecto para asimilar la igualdad entre los que viven en el hemisferio norte del planeta y los que viven en el hemisferio sur. Literalmente.

La representación del planeta en un mapa 2D tal como se suele representar siempre me ha conducido a la misma pregunta ¿Quién decidió?

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civics, Poetry

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't quite understand the point of this book. I didn't really like it or the illustrations.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

a simple toddler and up book where each two page spread features a line and action happening above and below. words are simple but the concept was a little high for some toddlers.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

SMART 2019

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! Another copy room read!

[Kelly]

This book is definitely a European style. I was not a fan of the illustrations, and I definitely wouldn't use it for storytime. It's different but not my style.

[jahki · Rating 5 out of 5]

the provocation for cultural studies (hemispheres)
difference in people
acceptance
different cultures and seasons
but we are all the same

[Mar Marbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los de arriba y los de abajo son iguales pero diferentes… Un cuento ideal para trabajar las diferencias según donde vivimos e introducir a los peques un poco en geografía si nos animamos.

[Lamasmaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermosas ilustraciones. Hermoso para explicarle a los más chicos, por ejemplo, los hemisferios. Me encantó!

[Norshakila Makmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a big fan of the book.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up Above and Down Below [the equator]

Interesting idea, but I think it's a little advanced for my storytime audience. This book would be a great supplement when classes talk about the world and it's equator.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brilliant concept for a picture book, especially appreciable for those of us who live in the southern hemisphere. I imagine it was inspired by the author/illustrator's experience of living in Santiago de Chile.

I love quirky illustrations, but some of these were slightly on the disturbing side: a two headed lady in a bikini; a man with a red top hat, red boots and nothing else but a maple leaf; a woman with frilly swimwear/lingerie(?), etc.

The translation from the original Spanish also seems a little too literal; the text lacks subtle inflections of meaning (and grammar?) and sometimes leaves you wondering what to make of it:
"Now and then, they all dream of flying. But, then...
(next page) ...who is from up above and who is from down below?"

Overall, it almost seems too quirky to sit together well as a story, leaving you more bewildered than anything else.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two kinds of people in the world -- those who live up above, and those who live down below. They may think they are different, but they aren't so very different. This relatively simple concept is explored in words and pictures, with each page divided in half to distinguish the up from the down. I expect children will turn the book around to examine the pictures closely to see which ones are mirror images and which ones have differences. The stylized people and muted range of colors (tans, reds, black, browns, with a little green & blue accents but no yellow, orange or purple) -- give the illustrations a distinctive quality.

Author and illustrator is from Chile. Translated by Susan Ouriou,Canada.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library last week.

I did figure out that the book was about the Northern vs. the Southern Hemisphere, and the illustrations are charming, if kind of really weird, but the text doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. I don't think anyone really thinks that the people who live in the Southern Hemisphere are at all different, much less so completely different that they might be a separate species, from the Northern Hemisphere. Apart from that unsettling aspect, this was a good book to talk about how it's summer in Australia right now.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to stay abstract ("On top, they think he ones on the bottom are different,") but then it does sweep into the real world ("When spring makes its entrance in one place, fall pushes its way into the other"), plus I should have noted the matching North-side-up and South-side-up map-of-the-world endpapers. If I don't think too hard about trying to figure out the ending (are they really visiting each other? Or just imagining it?) I do much better. Wish I were fluent in Spanish & could read this in the original to see if I like it better that way!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are people who live up and people who live down. They think they are different but really they are the same. When something happens up the opposite happens down. This is a great introduction to geography and opposites. I really enjoyed the whimsically illustrations. I am sure kids will get a kick out of turning the pages to see what exactly is different up and down.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

whimsical messy pictures. Can teach about being familiar with personal differences or even how the globe is opposite. Fun maps on endpaper. Author from Santiago de Chile, book translated into 9 languages.

[AnnieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird, really really weird. You wouldn't think that a book with less than 200 words could confuse two librarians, but it can.

I read it twice and I still don't really get it. It was ... well... weird.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book, There is a horizontal line drawn across the middle of all the pages. People and animals are pictured standing on the line the ones on top right-side up and the ones underneath upside-down. The endpapers show a map of the world.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely feels different from most American picture books. The illustrations are quirky and the story, while fairly mundane, could make for an interesting introduction to the northern and southern hemispheres.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author goes for a Seuss-ian feel as she explores the way we think about people on the other side of the world, and how they feel about us. In reality, we are much more alike than different.

[ISLN (Int'l School Library Network) Singapore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concept book from the southern hemisphere explores all sides of the question of up versus down. (Chile)

[Burbank Library Children's Department · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the spirit of Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches, this lovely picture book very simply shows how we are all the same no matter where we live in the world. It's all a matter of perspective.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I certainly appreciate the message that people are more alike than different, but I'm not sure this is the book that will help kids understand that. It may be just a little TOO out there.