KINDERGARTEN DAY USA AND CHINA/ KINDERGARTEN DAY CHINA AND USA

This dos-à-dos photo-essay plays off the old saw, “If you dig a hole deep enough, you’ll reach China,” to present a representative day in kindergarten classrooms in Schenectady, N.Y., and Beijing. A clock icon on each page shows the time, 12 hours apart, in each place. The American kindergarteners sing and read, draw, eat lunch, celebrate a classmate’s birthday, enjoy recess and negotiate friendships. Turn the book over and start from the back to see the Chinese children doing the same, even down to the birthday celebration. The Chinese section introduces pinyin (Chinese written in the Roman alphabet) and Chinese characters (with notes that are occasionally too complex for the presumed kindergarten-age audience). A problem inherent in emphasizing the praiseworthy “we’re all really alike” message is that cultural differences are elided (though the mealtime differences are strikingly evident). Still, a nifty introduction. (Informational picture book. 4-7)