Praise for Origin

A 2026 Notable Social Studies Trade Books Award Winner
National Council for the Social Studies and Children's Book Council

An arrestingly artful compendium of 22 first-person portraits including children from Indigenous cultures across the globe, this meticulously researched book invites readers to reflect on our common origin as Earthlings inhabiting the same delicate home. Each spread presents a contemporary and historical glimpse into the ways of an Indigenous group, such as Inuit or Cherokee peoples, alongside arresting illustrations that intentionally blur lines between humans and the landscapes that sustain them. Young readers will come to understand the subjects' prevailing values-reciprocity, solidarity, avoiding excess, and honoring all that nature provides. It all makes for a provocative invitation to reflect on how we might better unite humanity and protect our remaining biodiversity (about 80 percent of which occurs on Indigenous-managed lands).
Sierra Club Magazine



About the Author

Nat Cardozo is an Illustrator and workshop facilitator specializing in editorial illustration. She is a graduate of the School of Design and Illustration in Barcelona, Spain. She has had her work featured in exhibitions in Uruguay, Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. She has won several major awards for children’s book illustration. Born in France to Uruguayan refugees, Cardozo now lives and works as a freelance illustrator along the coast from Montevideo, Uruguay.

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