Our World: a first book of geography by Sue Lowell Gallion. Pictures by Lisk Feng. 26 p. Phaidon, July, 2020. 9781838660819. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publicist.)
Children learn best through manipulation. They are tactile, curious creatures. As infants, everything goes in the mouth. Beyond infancy, things need to be touched and turned in order to be learned. Each new experience is cause for rapt attention. The more interactive an experience is, the better. As a child matures, his or her outlook expands beyond the self and the family to the larger community and, eventually beyond.
Our World invites exploration on many levels. It's unique shape sets it apart from any other book. The pleasing palette and inviting illustrations encourage pausing to pore over each spread. Finally, the text can be read two ways - as an impressionistic poem that inspires awe and curiosity about the planet or as more scientific descriptions of the variety of biomes and landforms that connect it. The sturdy board book will stand up to repeated readings and display options.
Our World is an appealing and intriguing addition to any home, school, classroom or public library!
I had the privilege of virtually interviewing Sue Lowell Gallion about her unique new book. Numbers = me in black. A = Sue in purple.
1. As you know, I'm a huge fan of your "Pug and Pig" books (Pug Meets Pig and Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat) and I know you've written an easy reader series. Am I correct in saying that Our World is your first nonfiction book? Would you talk a bit about what inspires your writing. Are there plans for more nonfiction?
A: Yes, Our World is my first nonfiction book. I majored in journalism and history in college so I’m returning to my roots with this book. I loved the research work for Our World, and I definitely want to do more nonfiction. It’s a creativity boost for me to work with different formats and genres. They’re like different kinds of puzzles.
I get ideas in many places – driving on highways, in conversations, when I’m playing with my grandsons. Some ideas develop into a story, others stay in the file for later. And, of course, some completed manuscripts find a home with a publisher and many don’t. There’s a lot of rejection in this business.
Thanks for your kind words about the Pug and Pig series. My Beach Lane Books editor just sent me revised sketches from Joyce Wan for Pug & Pig and Friends, which comes out spring 2021. Just wait! (Yay!)
2. Our World might just be the perfect introduction to well, our world for preschoolers and elementary students. It's simple, impressionistic and tactile. Was the book written with that design in mind? It just begs to be touched.
A: I so hope this book finds a home in lots of school libraries and classrooms! I came up with the concept for a globe-shaped board book at a writer and illustrators’ workshop. There’s nothing like time with other creatives to get my brain firing. Then I started playing with words and content to fit that format.
The globe stand makes a great handle to hold onto the book, doesn’t it? I can’t walk by a real globe without touching or spinning it, so I hoped this book would have the same effect. The visual world Lisk Feng created is stunning. And I can’t say enough about the Phaidon team and their design and production expertise.
3. This is more than a story-in-rhyme; it's a poem, isn't it? A poem that incorporates the basics of geography - biomes, landforms, and can be read as such. I like the dual-nature of the book, simple & impressionistic on the left with facts and more difficult vocabulary on the right side. Left-brain and right brain learning, just now occurred to me! Coincidence?
A: Wow! I love that. Wish I could say it was my idea! I first envisioned the book only with simple, lyrical text for the younger child. I wrote it as a poem, and that’s how the original manuscript was submitted. My editor at Phaidon came up with the idea of adding the secondary text layer that expanded the reach of the book, both in depth of information and audience. We wanted to make the reading experience conversational, so we were very deliberate about that in the secondary nonfiction text. My goal was for the text to convey a sense of wonder and also spark curiosity about the natural world.
The combination of rhyme and nonfiction was challenging, especially during all the revisions. I may not try that again anytime soon! But that’s how this manuscript unfolded. You have to honor that as a writer and then be ready to revise as part of a team. We all want to make the best book possible. I do love the way the dual narrative works with the design.
4. Sadly, the study of geography has become compressed over the years, folded into a unit of social studies to make room for tested area subjects. I loved geography as a kid. Were you a geo-geek? Do you believe there is a correlation between learning to appreciate how interconnected the planet is and things like empathy and environmental awareness?
A: I’ve always loved geography. I came from one of those families where everyone’s basement had stacks of old National Geographic magazines. I definitely share your concern about teachers having time to teach subjects like this because of the emphasis on testing. And as adults, isn’t an appreciation and understanding of the natural world and the people and cultures around the globe more important? There are so many creative teachers, and great tools and books available to teach geography now, but I know educators are limited by time and curriculum constraints.
And absolutely, as people of any age learn more about the processes of nature on our planet, I think and hope that environmental awareness increases. We’re at such a critical time with climate change. I hope that this book can help kids and adults appreciate this amazing planet and support what’s necessary to take care of it.
What do you think?
I think you've got a winner here, Sue Lowell Gallion! I look forward to not only more Pug and Pig, but more one-of-a-kind informational literature! No pressure! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. And thank you for the guides, Our World Guide and Inflatable Globe Guide which interested teachers and parents will find useful! I am totally blanking on how to link the documents to this blog post so visit Sue's beautiful website to learn more about her books in general and Our World in particular. There is a link to resources on the book's page.
Big Book of Animals: a Lego Adventure in the Real World. 128 p. Scholastic Inc., February, 2017. 9781338130072. (Review from finished copy courtesy of reviewer.)
I doubt there are many who will be able to resist this adorable tiger cub staring out from the cover of this attractive title. If the picture doesn't grab your young readers, perhaps the Lego log and brick design framing the cover will. What does Lego have to do with informational books? I wondered the same thing and my thoughts did turn a bit cynical, truth be told. Here's a link to the partnership page since the book just gives the main Scholastic link and I did not find a search box on the home page. This particular title is not shown (as of 4/24/17) in the line-up of titles, but has a downloadable building starter associated with it.
A bubble adjacent to the Table of Contents explains that Lego and Scholastic have entered into a partnership to bring a series of nonfiction titles out containing, "amazing facts, beautiful real-world photos, and mini figures everywhere." Let's start with the positive - real world photos? Check. Lots and lots of them. Beautiful? Double check - lots of crisp, clear, color photos. Many are close-ups. Mini figures? Check. There are explorer guides/ responsible for each of seven biomes and they are all dressed appropriately for their biomes. That said, they lead a rather eclectic group of explorers/ tourists whose running commentary is supposed to add humor. This is fine, but more information about the biomes and animals might have increased the value of this volume as a resource for reports.
Additionally, a construction guy appears periodically to suggest some building ideas, which is where the Legos come in. Presumably, young readers will be inspired to pull out his or her bricks and mini figures. This is encourages imagination and free play. This is sort of refreshing since there are so many themed kits available for purchase, some kids might not realize that Legos can be used for their own creations. I'm serious! A robotics teacher whose class I observed told me that she wanted the kids to build their own programs without relying on building/ programming instructions and most of her students couldn't do it.
Now for the amazing facts - where the pages are crammed with photos, the "amazing" facts are a bit brief. There's a text box of "Minifacts" on each double-page spread and a very general overview of a variety of animals in each biome. What I found particularly interesting was the group name feature, which stated either none or the collective noun if the animal had one associated with it. Some of them were quite fun!
This is more a browsing book for most readers. Having raised a few Legomaniac fact hounds, I would've been all over this as a parent. If budget dollars are tight, its report value is limited. If you want enthusiastic browsers lining up and have the dollars, this title will be hot.
The books in the series are colorful and attractively designed. I would be interested in getting a few of the titles. A short glossary and index, as well as picture credits conclude the volume. There is no additional back matter.
Animal Planet Animal Atlas. Text by James Buckley, Jr. Maps by Aaon Meshon. 96 p. Liberty Street, May 2016. 8671618931658. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher)
Personally, I love atlases. I love the many iterations maps can take - political, topographical, population and so on. I actually mourn the fact that many kids today can't read maps. But I do keep a number of atlases in my library for those very occasional days when I am asked for one.
I cannot say that I have ever read an animal atlas. A quick search reveals that there aren't many. National Geographic published one in 2010 that I somehow missed.
I was sort of thrilled this over-sized beauty arrived in the mail. It has been awhile since I've gotten to settle down with a book about animals. Coincidentally, I had just finished hosting a fifth grade science class for a few days while they did research for their biomes unit. You can imagine my delight when I cracked open the book to find these words in the introduction: "The maps in this book are a little different. They show the borders of the major biomes of the world."
The introduction also explains a couple of text boxes and provides an overview of the eight biomes that can be found on nearly every continent. A world map follows the introduction and each continent's travel guides are introduced.
One thing I noted the fifth grade science teacher constantly repeating was the reminder that students look at their assigned biomes in more than one place in the world. It seems that in their research, they tended to stop at the first or the most familiar location without reading a bit more deeply. This book will do much to help his quest for deeper reading.
Starting with Asia, each continent gets its own chapter and sections within each chapter identify the biomes from bottom to top or top to bottom. Each chapter ends with a double page spread called "Where in the World?" that focuses on one animal up close. It includes a super-close-up shot of the animal, a ROAR (Reach out. Act. Respond) box as well as a text box featuring animal facts - common name, scientific name, habitat, and diet.
The book is well organized and filled with gorgeous full-color photographs and hand-drawn maps. While this will not be the definitive source for researchers, it certainly is a great and inspirational starting point. A glossary and index of animals concludes the volume along with photo credits. I am thrilled to be able to add this to our collection. I will probably need a few more copies.
by Emma Stevenson. 32 p. Holiday House Inc., March, 2013. 9780823422937. (Borrowed from the public library.)
Seven ecosystems, seven gorgeous double-page spreads depicting a swamp, the Florida Everglades, desert, the Sahara, rain forest, South America's Amazon, a savannah, a deciduous forest, the arctic, and coral reef, Australian's Great Barrier Reef. Lots of animals inhabit the scenes, some more camouflaged than others. A smaller duplicate scene follows with each animal numbered. Instead of identifying each animal numerically, the animal names are listed alphabetically, followed by the number, which makes for additional searching. Each ecosystem is described along with a sentence about each animal.
There isn't a lot of information provided about either the ecosystem or the animals. This book won't serve report writers very well, but will appeal to browsers and trivia hounds. Recommended for grades 2 - 5.
