THIS IS HOW WE DO IT

Children from around the world describe “how we do it.”

As described in an author’s note, seven children and families (from Italy, Japan, Peru, Russia, Uganda, India, and Iran) provided photos and information on daily life used as research for stylized yet realistic digital illustrations that fill this large-format, very attractive picture book and the text. Each section starts with a statement: “This is me”; “This is where I live.” The explanatory text for each child can sometimes feel static, with occasional words defined in the glossary, but it is really the contrasting pictures, side by side, that are the attraction here. Many double-page spreads show examples from all seven countries, such as the page that focuses on chores. All seven children describe their tasks: Daphine, from Uganda, sweeps the yard with a small broom; Oleg, from Russia, vacuums; and Ribaldo, from Peru, helps with farming. Occasional topics demand multiple double-page spreads, as in a sequence that shows the children’s varying paths to school. No real social issues are mentioned, although a flashlight illuminates Ribaldo’s table as he helps his brother with homework, and Daphine has 69 children in her class at a “private school.” All families introduced are headed by heterosexual parents. Actual photos of each family appear at the end, and the endpapers feature a world map with the homes of the seven children indicated.

A global introduction that goes beyond the usual symbols and sights.