Product Description

There are currently more than six billion people on the planet! This enormous number can be difficult to grasp, especially for a child. But what if we imagine the whole world as a village of just 100 people? In this village * 22 people speak a Chinese dialect * 20 earn less than a dollar a day * 32 are of Christian faith * 17 cannot read or write * 39 are under 19 years old In a time when parents and educators are looking to help children gain a better understanding of the world's peoples and their ways of life, If the World Were a Village offers a unique and objective resource. By exploring the lives of the 100 villagers, children will discover that life in other nations is often very different from their own. The shrunk-down statistics -- some surprising, some shocking -- and David Smith's tips on building "world-mindedness" will encourage readers to embrace the bigger picture and help them to establish their own place in the global village.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16171 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781550747799
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Booklist
Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. To make the idea of a world of 6.2 billion people more understandable, Smith suggests that children imagine the population of the world as a village of just 100 people. That's one person representing 62 million people in the real world. Surprising, even shocking statistics follow--for example, many kids in the U. S. take computers for granted, but only seven people in the global village own one. Each double-page, picture-book spread relates a few consciousness-raising facts about such topics as nationalities, food, language, and religion. With the aid of a calculator, even younger kids can do the math; the tricky part is to get children to really understand the ideas. Armstrong's large acrylic paintings, nice complements to the text, look like stained glass windows, with blocks of intense color outlined in thick black lines. This highly informative book will get kids thinking and asking questions, and it can easily be incorporated into a middle-school social studies curriculum. The endnote suggests related activities for home and classroom. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
This highly informative books will get kids thinking and asking questions. (Booklist )

It’s an eye-opener for all. (Where Toronto )

About the Author
David J. Smith is a teacher and educational consultant with over 25 years of experience in the classroom and is the creator of the award-winning curriculum "Mapping the World by Heart." He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shelagh Armstrong is a freelance commercial artist who has designed adult book covers, stamps and spot illustrations. If the World Were a Village is her first children’s book. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Customer Reviews

Facts Dulled By Unimaginative Presentation
This may be a five-star concept, but the execution leaves much to be desired, particularly in the illustrations. The best that can be said is that the pictures are deeply colored and might make a good stained-glass project. However, the almost uniformly bird's-eye view of this "global village" fails to show much difference between the haves and have-nots, or, really, to illustrate the facts of any given page. We simply see a colorful village from the air... over and over. The very imagery that might make these facts come alive in a child's imagination is missing. Some sense of interaction - this is a village, after all! - would help. Instead of faces, we are given a fly-over. Thus, the facts remain mere lists, and not emotionally compelling.

If All Books Were This Interesting
Over the years IÕve received several forwards of a small essay which reduced the world population of approximately six billion to a more manageable one hundred so that crucial statistics could be more easily understood. Now the original author of this concept,David J. Smith, has really pulled off a neat trick by writing a fascinating book about this representative village of one hundred people and making it interesting to all ages. Although I am a high school history and geography teacher, IÕve also taught first, fifth, and eighth grades and I know that IF THE WORLD WERE A VILLAGE would be popular even with six-year-olds, whether or not they fully grasped the concept. Every adult with whom I have shared the book has been instantly captivated - indeed, IÕve felt bad taking it back. In my freshman geography class I canÕt get through a page without a barrage of questions and comments, and some students have already been inspired to do some research of their own. Our school has ordered a copy for every social studies classroom, and both teachers and parents will appreciate the fact that Mr. Smith, a well-respected teacher and geography consultant , has included a variety of practical geographic activities.
In addition, this book would stand on its own as a work of art; the fabulous illustrations draw the reader in to the village and beautifully enhance the story. IÕve seldom seen such a wonderful marriage of text and illustrations.
ItÕs rare that children have a chance to learn so much vital information in such an entertaining manner - this is a guaranteed best-seller.

An original and interesting book for all ages
I purchased this book as a gift for a friend's child. I left the book on my desk and one of my colleagues leafed through it and was hooked. Before the end of the day the book had been passed through four other interested readers. They all found the book fascinating and informative.

"If the World Were a Village" encourages the reader, regardless of age, to consider the world's population as if it were a village comprised of 100 people. The reader will make discoveries regarding population, ages, religions, literacy, money, and much more. The book ends with what I consider to be the most valuable part of the book -- by very objectively educating the reader on population growth and suggesting ways to further educate children (or adults) on the subject.

There should be more children's books like this one -- excellent for children, and appealing to adult readers as well.