Happy book birthday to WHY HUMANS WORK: HOW JOBS SHAPE OUR LIVES AND OUR WORLD by Monique Polak and illustrated by Suharu Ogawa, out today from Orca Book Publishers!

“Situates work squarely within our wondering, playful, and imaginative worlds…There are many reasons to like and welcome this book. Recommended.” ― CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“ A realistic, trustworthy narration…Elementary and middle school librarians would find this to be an easy fit for their collections. Recommended.” ― School Library Connection

I bet you’ve been asked that question before. But have you ever thought about why humans work? There are almost 3.5 billion people working in the world today, and that number is growing. In Why Do We Work? author Monique Polak investigates the past, present and future of jobs, including how work has also been shaped by discrimination, privilege and child labor. Meet a variety of working professionals and explore why we have careers, vocations and professions. How is the way we work changing, and what will it look like in the future?

Monique Polak is the author of more than thirty books for young people. She is the three-time winner of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children’s and YA Literature for her novels Hate Mail, What World is Left and Room for One More. In addition to teaching at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Maclean’s Magazine, the Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers. She is also a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada’s Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! In 2016, Monique was the CBC/Quebec Writers’ Federation inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique lives in Montreal. Monique is represented by Amy Tompkins.

Share: