If the World Were a Village

Product Information

I could definitely integrate "If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People" with Math and Social Studies instruction. First off how has this book been in existence since 2002 with an update in 2008 and I didn't know about it? But the text quickly becomes a blur of numbers and facts – and Shelagh Armstrong’s double-page spreads are unlikely to energize or focus young readers: with their monotonous compositions and colours, stylized landscapes, and faceless people, her paintings quickly become tedious. Of course, much further study needs to be done to understand where and why these situations occur (for example, a baby born in the village today could expect to live to age 63; obviously, this is an average as some countries have high infant and childhood mortality rates whereas those in America can expect to live into their 70s or 80s) but and the author provides some teaching ideas and resources at the back of the book for parents and teachers who wish to do just that. There are obvious cross-curricular links with Geography and PSHE here, as the data in the book really make us think about the haves and have-nots of our world, the differences between countries and peoples, and also what unites us all.

The technique used is both traditional and up-to-date: lots of memorization, but not the old-fashioned methodology of rote-for-rote's-sake, but rather memorization informed and enriched by the real use of knowledge, study, practice, mnemonics, and games. If The World Were A Village" (isbn 1550747797) has been widely and favorably reviewed in journals such as Booklist and Horn Book and School Library Journal. Of course, I don't mean to compare a working class small town in Nevada or the air pollution of the Sacramento valley to the struggles in a small African village or the air pollution in Beijing, for example, but simply to say that even when children are not able to travel to other parts of the world, they can still develop an understanding of and sympathy to the differences in what people have and have not, and even starting within ones own "village," there is much room to cultivate "world-mindedness" and, as author David Smith says, "Knowing who our neighbors are, where they live and how they live, will help us live in peace.First published to wide acclaim in 2002, this eye-opening book has since become a classic, promoting “world-mindedness” by imagining the world’s population — all 6.

Maybe some kind of narrative spine would have been more effective at pulling readers in and exposing them to new worlds. There are some fascinating facts in the book such as out of our global village of 100 - 5 would be from the USA and Canada, 22 would speak a Chinese dialect, 32 would breathe polluted air and 24 would not have electricity. This beautifully illustrated and unique book, revised and updated for 2018 onwards, explains facts about the world's population in a simple, non-political and fascinating way. It points out relative sizes of populations who speak specific languages, get an education, have a stable food supply, etc.Further to this, it highlights the concept of global citizenship, tolerance whilst simultaneously exposing children to information texts.