Brief History of Freedom
On the Island of Big Questions, Sofia introduces her best friend: Freedom.
Through a lively, ironic, and accessible journey across time, the book explores what freedom truly means — and what it does not. From the laws of the universe and the constraints of nature to humanity’s inventions, readers discover how freedom emerged as a uniquely human achievement.
Yet freedom alone proved insufficient: without limits, it risks becoming abuse, oppression, and injustice. The narrative traces the birth of Justice, democracy in ancient Greece, the reflections of great philosophers, and the revolutions that transformed freedom into a universal right.
With clarity and humor, the book shows how fragile and hard-won freedom is, and how it still requires protection today. In the end, freedom is revealed not as the ability to do anything, but as a shared responsibility that allows everyone to enjoy their own.
Brief History of Freedom is part of a three-book series, The Pensive Ones. Luca Novelli tackles philosophical issues, without renouncing the distinctive traits that have made him famous as a science communicator: humor, simple words perfect for kids, and colorful illustrations that bring the ideas to life.
The series speaks to the youngest readers while winking at adults, with ideas and suggestions for those who want to say more. The history of three main concepts (Freedom, Friendship, Happiness) is told by a special guide: Sofia. She’s a little girl who is thousands of years old and lives on the magical Island of Big Questions. With her help, we’ll discover how the meaning of freedom has changed over time, how friendship exists not only between people but also in the animal and plant worlds, and that there are many ways to find happiness, which brings us peace.
By the same author or illustrator
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Brief History of Happiness
Humans have searched for it across time, it sometimes slips through our fingers when we try to grasp it too tightly: we name it “Happiness”. On the Island of Big Questions lives Sofia, who answers what cannot be weighed or measured—questions about Happiness. There was a time when happiness did not yet exist. Then life appeared on Earth, and with it…
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Brief History of Friendship
Friendship has shaped survival, culture, and happiness across time. On the Island of Big Questions, we are led by a special guide: Sofia. She’s a little girl who is thousands of years old. With her help, we’ll start for a lively and surprising journey into the history of Friendship. From atoms forming molecules to whales surrounded by companions, from prehistoric fires…
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Hi, I Am Moon
Our oldest cosmic companion finally tells “her side” of the story. A proud, slightly ironic narrator who has watched Earth for 4.5 billion years: the Moon. Speaking directly to readers, she tells the story of her birth from a colossal collision between the young Earth and a wandering planet, explaining how this violent origin made her composition similar to Earth’s…
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Hi, I Am Time
Time has a voice—and it’s ready to tell its story. A playful and informative journey in which Time itself becomes the narrator. Speaking directly to young readers, Time explains where it comes from and how humans have tried to measure it. From the Big Bang to calendars, sundials, and atomic clocks, science and history intertwine. The book explores days, months,…
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Hi, I Am Air
You can’t see her, but you can’t live without her: the true story of an invisible lady Air speaks directly to readers in first person. With irony and warmth, she reveals how she is everywhere—between words on a page, in our lungs, around the planet as the atmosphere. She explains what she is made of, from nitrogen and oxygen to…
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Hi, I Am Future
The future isn’t something to wait for—it’s something to imagine and create Future is a curious, outspoken child who speaks directly to readers and invites them to look at tomorrow as something alive and open: she explains that she has existed for as long as humankind, because every human generation has imagined what comes next. From the first control of…
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Hi, I Am Robot
A curious little robot, a big journey into the wonders of science and friendship The true and extraordinary story of a small robot, heir to the long tradition of ancient automata and forerunner of a new generation of curious, thinking machines. Equipped with a computer for a brain, this little robot can see in the dark, help with homework, tidy…
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Hi, I Am Sun
The story of the Sun told by itself, without mincing words A cheerful science book where the Sun itself grabs the microphone and starts chatting with Earthlings. In a friendly, slightly cheeky voice, it tells its life story: how it was born from cosmic dust, how it shines, and why life on Earth depends so much on its daily work.…
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Hi, I Am Micro
The epic story of life on Earth—told by one of its smallest but most powerful inhabitants. Micro, an invisible microbe, tells his own life story across billions of years. Born on the early Earth, he survives volcanoes, oceans, and mass extinctions. Microbe is the witness to the grand history of life: the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere thanks to…
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Hi, I Am Gea
The true and extraordinary story of a planet alone in the Universe and of how it became the mother of all living beings. A story that begins before us and continues around us, together with us. Because Gea is our Earth. Hi, I Am Gea is the story of Earth told in the first person, as if our planet itself were…
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Hi, I Am Zero
True and extraordinary story of Mr. Nothing and how he became a magical number, capable of opening doors onto infinity, creating universes, and multiplying by ten the numbers he stands beside. Zero is a number, like Seven, Three, and Nine, but it is a very special number. If monuments were built to numbers, the largest should be dedicated to Zero.…
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Hi, I Am Water
A witty, science-rich journey where facts and personality mix, and where the narrator is quite literally the substance of life. “Hello, I am Water. And I have a lot to say”. Water introduces itself as an ancient, globe-trotting protagonist who has seen everything: the birth of life in primordial oceans, the age of dinosaurs, the rise of civilizations, and humanity…
