ONE WORLD, ONE DAY

Highlighting the universal, this photographic volume uses the scaffold of an ordinary day, from morning till night, to explore children’s lives—their preparations for the day, breakfast, school, chores, play, dinner, time with family and, finally, bedtime, with its promise of new adventures in the morning. The photos were taken in countries worldwide, including the United States, which is represented with such varied images as Amish children playing (the text reads “Recess rocks!”) and a diverse group of kids in New York City. Unfortunately, the matte paper soaks in the color leaving some photos with a dull tone. The layout changes on every page from very effective double-page spreads to less attractive placements of several photos in vertical narrow slices to other arrangements of two and three photos. The text is brief and accessible, but much of the meat is in the backmatter for adults. Country identifications, meaningful captions, background notes by many photographers and the text on a keyed map appear in very tiny print. A fine concept as a book, but not as attractive as it could be. (Informational picture book. 5-8)