From Apes to Homo Sapiens

Bengt-Erik Engholm & Jonna Björnstjerna

The history of humankind told with a twinkle in the eye, richly and humorously illustrated by Jonna Björnstjerna.
How did we become who we are, you and me? A long time has passed from when we climbed treesand moved around on all fours to when we built the first robot that could work for us.
How did societies develop the way they did? What important discoveries and inventions were we brilliant enough to make along the way? It has been a long time since the first person burned his fingers on the fire or got cut by the first knife. Not only have we become less hairy and smarter in the last 200 000 years, our gods have also become more modern.

From Apes to Homo Sapiens is reminiscent of Yuval Noah Harari’s best-selling Sapiens. While being educational, it is also fun and easily accessible for age 9+.

Fact-checked by science journalist and author Torill Kornfeldt.

Press voices

“Engholm and Björnstjerna’s account tumbles forth like a skittish spring stream. Björnstjerna’s crooked and humorous idiom contrasts nicely with Engholm’s easygoing yet informative storytelling.” Petter Lindgren, Aftonbladet

“Writing about events stretching over thousands of years in a concise and accessible way, without ending up with a piece of dry prose, is a skill that Engholm perfectly masters. This history book (….) is a breathtaking page turner (…) As well as amusingly interpreting the text, the illustrations help to reflect on historiography together with children.” Helsingborgs Dagblad

“Everything is described in a way that makes you constantly want to read on and learn more. (…) Moreover, the book has smart illustrations by Jonna Björstjerna, with funny speech bubbles that really add humor to the knowledge.” Agnes Bokblogg

”Inclusive and accessible.” Barnboksfamiljen

“The children’s non-fiction book of the year…. It’s not easy to write history for children, but Bengt-Erik Engholm does it excellently, while Jonna Björnstjerna lifts the story with her humorous illustrations and builds a foundation for discussion with your child.” Shora Esmailian, Helsingborgs Dagblad

“[Engholm and Björnstjerna] grip the reader’s attention throughout.” Sven Olov Karlsson, Expressen

“Either I’ve searched poorly or the offering of something other than nope-I’m-falling-asleep-boring texts about human evolution has been quite lackluster. But this is fun! And very approachable! And the topic is thrilling after all.”  Vi Läser

“A fantastically engaging narrative” Marie Lassen, Sydsvenskan