Group items tagged

One World, One Day uses exquisite, moving photographs and Barbara Kerley's poetic text to convey a simple yet profound concept: we are one global family. This is a sophisticated concept book, presented as an elegant picture book with contributions from top international photographers. This beautiful photo book follows the course of one day in our world. Sunrise to sunset is captured in the essential things we all do daily, wherever we live in the world, and in the different ways we do them. The first meal of the day will take on a whole new dimension for American kids as an American pancake breakfast is contrasted with porridge in North Korea and churros in Spain.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand was appointed by the United Nations to produce the official film for the International Year of Forests. Following the success of Home which was seen by 400 million people, the photographer began producing a short 7-minute film on forests made up of aerial images from Home and the Earth from Above television programmes. This film will be shown during a plenary session of the Ninth Session of United Nations Forum on Forests (24 January - 4 February 2011) in New York. It will be available to all from February 2 - for free - so that it can be shown worldwide. To have all information or to download the movie offorestsandmen.org

Age Range: 5 and up Fascinating and unique, Wonderful Houses Around the World gives children a welcome entrée into other places and other lives throughout the world. Glorious two-page photographic spreads capture families outside their homes, be they simple or imposing. Detailed cutaway illustrations reveal the inside of each house, showing the various family members engaged in typical daily activities. Captions explain where each house is located, the environmental conditions that affect the house design, how the family lives in the home, and their possessions - all providing interesting glimpses of life in other cultures. The ten houses profiled include a red mud dwelling with thatched towers in Togo, a yurt in Mongolia, a steep-roofed, shake-covered house in Transylvania, and a large donut-shaped communal building for 300 in China. This book increases children's wonder about and cultural awareness of the many different people and ways of life around the world.

A beautiful photo story exploring the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - nice for primary classes.

Cherry, Lynne. How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications, 2008. Age Range: 10 and up Publisher's Description: Cherry and Braasch introduce readers to scientists around the world whose research contributes to an understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming. They also describe the work of citizen scientists, including children, whose observations contribute to knowledge about important changes that are occurring. Studies range from documenting bloom dates of trees and flowers to extracting mud cores from the ocean floor. Small color photographs show the fieldwork and experiments of scientists and students. Even though many findings indicate a grim outlook for plant and animal life, including humans, if the current trends continue, the authors consistently note ways in which students can have a positive impact by making personal choices and influencing public policy. A concluding spread identifies the more than 40 scientists mentioned in the text. The book's wide-ranging exploration of scientific studies and the encouragement to people of every age to become citizen scientists and active participants for change make this a valuable purchase.

Jakubiak, David J. What Can We Do About Oil Spills and Ocean Pollution? New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2012. Age Range: 7 and up Publisher's Description: Frequent photographs in the news of oil-coated wildlife and massive floating trash islands offer an ugly glimpse of the sort of pollution we have unleashed in Earth's oceans. Young readers and budding environmentalists can dig deeper into the topic and explore some of the ways that people can prevent future pollution and clean up the messes humans have made. The included sidebars stimulate further interest in this very serious issue.

Platt, Richard. Smithsonian: Visual Timeline of Inventions. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2001. Age Range: 10 and up Publisher's Description: Unlike many similar books on the topic, this volume manages to convey a sense of how the passage of time affects creative design. Inventions are organized into five categories (world events, travel and conquest, agriculture and industry, daily life and health, and measurement and communication) and are presented concurrently in a timeline that starts in 600,000 B.C. and proceeds, with each turn of the page, to the present. This approach allows readers to note coincidences in creativity. Short captions fill in information about the inventions, but for good explanations of their significance or definitions of terms, readers will have to look elsewhere. The full-color photographs are varied and interesting. What's more, this book teaches a sophisticated form of literacy similar to skills students learn when they interact with multimedia resources, reading both text and pictures, and provides a third understanding, that of juxtaposition.

Larson, Jennifer S. Who's Buying? Who's Selling?: Understanding Consumers and Producers. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 2010. Age Range: 6 and up Publisher's Description: This book offers easy-to-read introductions to the world of economics. Addressing readers as "you," Larson asks questions such as, "Did you ever get money for your birthday?" and "How do you decide what to do with your money?" (Do I Need It?). The everyday-life examples will demonstrate to children that they can play a vital role in the economic world. Clear, age-appropriate language explains new concepts well: "When someone works at a paid job, he or she earns money. This money is called income." Simple paragraphs of two to four short sentences appear in large colored fonts against bright backgrounds that change color with every page. Each title includes an activity such as making a spend-or-save list to help decide what to do with birthday money. The books' layout is interesting and fresh, and each page features a large, well-chosen photograph with a boxed caption. A caption in What Is Money, Anyway? states that "People trade goods at swap meets," which may confuse readers who only know swap meets as a place to buy merchandise. Margaret Hall's "Earning, Saving, Spending" series (Heinemann, 2008) covers similar topics of money, banks, allowance, credit cards, and checks, but is for first through third graders. Report writers will value her longer paragraphs with detailed coverage including history and global issues. Larson's books will help ease younger readers into the world of economics.

Gina Capaldi, A Boy Named Beckoning: The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero (Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, 2008). Grade Level: 2-4 Publisher Description: This story reveals the remarkable life of a Native American boy named Wassaja, or "Beckoning," who was kidnapped from his Yavapai tribe and sold as a slave. Adopted by an Italian photographer in 1871 and renamed Carlos Montezuma, the young boy traveled throughout the Old West, bearing witness to the prejudice against and poor treatment of Native Americans. Carlos eventually became a doctor and leader for his people, calling out for their rights. Gina Capaldi's exquisite paintings bring to life excerpts from Dr. Carlos Montezuma's own letters describing his childhood experiences. The culminating portrait provides an inventive look back into history through the eyes of a Native American hero.

Photojournalist and educator Joan Sara Klatchko uses her photography to tell powerful stories of children: the cultures that define them, the global issues that affect them, the universal themes that connect them.