ONE MOMENT IN TIME

Children from around the world enjoy their everyday activities as the narration explains that these daily events happen simultaneously.

Javier eats his corn tortillas and beans at 7 a.m. in Mexico, while Kayla prepares for school at 8 a.m. in New York City, and Lucas sits in a colorful wheelchair in a racially diverse Brazilian classroom at 9 a.m. The subject is math, and the text makes the point: “The time zones might change as you travel around the world, but the times tables don’t!” Before every page turn, the refrain reads: “And at exactly the same time…” and in the next scene a new child in a different country takes center stage. At noon, Esther eats her outdoor school lunch in Ghana; James gets his guitar lesson in Scotland at 1 p.m.; Yusuf checks a book out from a library in Turkey at 3 p.m. Other places visited include Dubai, Thailand, and Australia. Each double-page spread invites readers to look closely at the places, objects, and people pictured. The text engages kids in considering questions like “Do you have a special place where you like reading?” Vibrant illustrations teem with playful details and portray the contemporary world. The unlabeled world map on the last spread includes small pictures of each child, but it does not delineate the time zones. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Ably illustrating the concept of time zones, this will start conversations about geography.