Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This is one of those picture books that may mean more to adults than kids. That's certainly who the message seems to be aimed at. Kids don't need to be told that they need freedom to play and control their environment. That's for the adults reading along. And as such, I have a hard time recommending this one.

This was a nice book but the blurb for the story didn't really match the content of the book.

It was a fun read but it was lacking a little for me as a mum and the children's book market is one that is very competitive. I read it with my five year old daughter and if it is a book she has really enjoyed we always have to read it again and she didn't want to do that with me for this one

It is 3 stars from me, content was good but as a mum it was a little lacking compared to some of the other books out there - would encourage others to give it a go as that is just my personal opinion

We Are Many has an enjoyable story, ideal for posing questions with young readers, and the illustrations add to the tale wonderfully. I would gladly share this book with young readers.

We are Many
Dave Cameron
This picture book tells a silly story about how a group of children all diving for the same ball suddenly turns into a mountain of people all piling on top of each other. There are many interesting ideas considered in this story, including setting rules, herd mentality and separation or division. I feel like a creative teacher could definitely find interesting ways to bring this book to life in their classroom. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 5-9 range Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

How one ball creates one mountain, two mountains and many more ... made out of people! Really? YES!!!

Kids start the game with one kid kicking a ball and it's game on. They chase the ball through the park giggling and laughing and having a grand old time. They end up in a tangled heap of bodies. Whoever gets to the ball first ends up at the bottom of a laughing heap of kids. A jogger hears the laughter and sees the heap and shouts out,
"people pile"! How fun is that?

Adults tune in when they see the diverse swarm of kids having so much fun and they start to participate too. Soon people are stuck in the middle and at the bottom and are unable to move. They feel frustrated as the pile becomes as big as a mountain. Help!

The mountain keeps growing until it cannot sustain itself and it splits into two piles. People choose which pile they like best and the kids accuse the adults of taking over and ruining their fun. After all they just want to kick and chase the ball.

The re-invented game leads to more and more heaps of people choosing their pile and being accepted and feeling a sense of belonging there.


The illustrations are colourful, busy, detailed and cartoonish. It is a book that although silly is interesting and kids will love the all-inclusive fun factor.

"Award-winning journalist Dave Cameron has created an unconventional, one-of-a-kind story to introduce young readers to some big ideas about societies, group mentality and group dynamics." I love the fact that the positive message is that everyone is welcome. We Are Many will spark lots of discussion and encourages critical thinking. The illustrations are full of humour and kid's will love going back again and again to check them out.

Giving this one 2.5 🌟 but rounding up to 3 🌟 because of the beautiful, diverse illustrations. I honestly had no clue what this book was about after reading it. I then needed to reread & have my husband read it so we could discuss. I think there is a message about society hidden DEEP in this story— but we struggled hard to find it. I don’t believe kids will understand it either.

Thank you to NetGalley & Kids Can Press for allowing me to preview!!

Strange little story. Colorful illustrations depict a diverse group of children playing a game that involves chasing a soccer ball and piling on top of it; then adults start joining in, making the pile taller and taller, until it grows too tall and begins to split apart into multiple piles. The kids express confusion about why the adults are throwing themselves onto these "people piles" (as the book calls them), but an explanation is never given. I got the vague sense that they were supposed to be a metaphor for society - as various characters make claims about some piles being better than others, feeling stuck at the bottom of a pile or trying to climb to the top - but if that's what the author was going for, it was definitely not conveyed very clearly. (For a more successful allegory involving piles of creatures, see the classic "Hope for the Flowers" by Trina Paulus.) While young kids may be content to enjoy the book's silly illustrations, older readers will likely be left scratching their heads.

I didn’t understand this story at all. I read it through twice and the description mentioned that it looked at how people act in groups but I don’t understand the meaning or significance of this.

The artwork was good though.

This was a cute one! My 9 and 7 year old said it’s silly, fun, and colorful.
I loved the diversity! Definitely looking forward to adding this to our own shelf.


Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me
To receive an arc in exchange for an honest review- all thoughts and opinions are my own!