A flawed look at the ways children play around the world. Many children in the United States or Canada may no longer make their own toys, but the photos of kids from Bangladesh, Malawi and Sudan who have created their own playthings from bits of wood and wire or even old radios are intriguing. The photos of children dancing in Peru and Myanmar, building with plastic blocks in Indonesia and Vietnam and playing with balls in Ethiopia and Mongolia (activities a little more familiar to most North American readers) can also work as conversation starters. Unfortunately, this book in the World Vision Early Readers series suffers from a lack of specific identification (readers have to go to the photo credits to find out where the pictures were taken), no map and a text that provides little new information. While the emphasis on the universal is understandable, maps and country names can and should become part of every child’s early learning, and it’s precisely these visual books that could help make children aware of the world outside their little neighborhood. Look for others that do the job better. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-88776-998-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2010
This celebration of the grandparent-grandchild relationship from the World Vision Easy Readers series shows kids playing, working and laughing with their older relatives. The photos from countries including the Dominican Republic, Afghanistan, Armenia and Tanzania are engaging and contemporary and often show the children’s environment, homes and animals, but the names of the countries they live in are hidden away on the verso of the title page, and there is no map. Even most adults sharing this book with children will feel the lack of this information as they try to help kids identify similarities and differences in the everyday experiences of the children pictured or between readers and the children in the book. The very simple text is often trite, providing another reason to skip this well-intentioned but flawed volume. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-88776-997-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Buy this book when, as the Spanish say, “frogs grow hair!” (Informational picture book. 4-6)
Kids from different countries introduce idioms.
On the title-page spread, a child with dark brown skin and black curly hair says: “Do you see the dragon?” Another kid, with pinkish skin and straight orange hair, says: “Dragon? What dragon? I’ll believe you…” and the turn reveals a double-page spread with enormous, flying pink porcine creatures and the words “…when pigs fly!” A bucolic, woodland scene is the backdrop, and lettering on a tree indicates “United Kingdom.” The pattern continues as other, diverse children join the first, black child in the same wooded scene, newly named animals and trees with different labels offering a variety. The humorous expressions of disbelief include “…when crows fly upside down!” from the Malayali people of India; “…when the lobster whistles on top of the mountain!” from Russia; and “when chickens have teeth!” from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The cartoons are stylized but mostly recognizable and usually humorous. The author’s note informs readers that idioms’ “meanings come from the speaking patterns of the time or culture that coined them” but provides no specific information about the 11 selected; only four are from non-European languages. Endpaper maps help orient readers geographically, and on the rear, the sayings are printed in the original languages, all in roman letters even when the original language uses a different alphabet or script.
Buy this book when, as the Spanish say, “frogs grow hair!” (Informational picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-911373-49-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lantana
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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