Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-6. This photographic journal alphabetically introduces 25 countries from six continents and one imaginary land. For example, the letter S is represented by Senegal. In a few short, chatty paragraphs, readers learn tidbits about the land's topography, its religion, festivals, and food. A facts section gives information on the capital, languages, favorite sports, etc. But the real eyecatchers are the beautiful photographs of children at work, play, and worship. Each one celebrates the dignity and importance of children and allows readers to discover the differences and similarities among civilizations. And that imaginary land? It's Xanadu. In the words of children, it is a country where there are lots of flowers, where no one is rich and no one is poor. There is no violence. Sounds like a nice place to live, doesn't it? --Denia Hester
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6Children from 25 alphabetically arranged countries are introduced through beautiful, full-color pictures. A map of the world highlights the countries profiled. Each nation receives a two-page spread that includes a map, flag, a few paragraphs describing the people who live there, and four or five photographs. Each selection also contains additional facts: capital, language, population, number of children in the country, favorite sports, and an environmental tidbit. Finally, other countries whose names begin with the same letter are listed. The writing is unexciting, consisting primarily of brief declarative sentences, but the tone and content reflect respect for and knowledge of the concerns of children. In a particularly nice touch, the word "Hello" is written in the country's dominant language and spelled out phonetically. To represent the letter X, the authors provide excerpts from writings by elementary school students who describe the imaginary country of Xanadu. An afterword suggests books and activities that might help children explore other cultures and become a "global citizen." There is not enough substance here to do more than motivate readers to further exploration of a particular country, but perhaps that is enough.Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Foreword by Marian Wright Edelman. In this attractively designed volume, twenty-six countries (one for each letter of the alphabet) and the children that live in them are profiled. Each double-page entry includes a map, a short description, color photographs of children in traditional and modern dress, and facts such as population, languages spoken, and favorite sports. An afterword offers ideas on being a global citizen. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
At first glance, this looks like an ABC book, but the alphabet plays a distant second to a combination gazetteer and cultural geography. Each of 26 countries is covered in a spread that includes a greeting in the appropriate language, a map, and several full-color photographs of children in typical settings and situations; the result is an encounter with the local dress, transportation, and architecture, as well as a glimpse of the work and play of children. Ajmera and Versola offer a gold mine of interesting national nuggets--that Zimbabwe means ``stone houses,'' that girls and women in Yemen decorate their hands with swirls of henna, that Budapest is really two cities, Buda and Pest, split by the Danube--and include concise regional and ethnic histories, with X standing for the ``imaginary'' country of Xanadu. A short fact sheet for every country relays one particularly fascinating item: the proportion of children to the population as a whole, giving readers instant understanding of population pyramids, e.g., Russia has 34 million children out of an overall population of 147 million, while Oman has 1 million children in a population of 2 million. A pleasing and hopeful book--sugar-coated as it may be--with a feel-good global outlook. (Nonfiction. 7-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
