BACK TO SCHOOL

Across the globe, schools and the children that attend them
are similar and different in so many ways.

Organized by simple statements regarding what, where, and
how children study, the book offers photos featuring a wide range of
children, from Indigenous children in Brazil to children of multiple races in
the United States. Although the pictures and their clear, informative captions
are grouped according to commonalities, they also accurately represent how
class, culture, and faith influence everything from school uniforms to what it
means to be a good citizen. The final pages contain longer, more detailed text
that caregivers can use to supplement the facts that are already presented in
the book. The book’s illustrations are carefully curated to represent a
wide range of regions, faiths, and skin colors, all within an age range that
seems to be middle elementary. Laudably, the children pictured in the
photos span economic strata as well as geography: The book shows
children of different class levels studying in the global south as well as more
developed countries. It is refreshing to see images of students studying in a
night school in India and a UNESCO–funded school in Rwanada juxtaposed with
photographs of what appear to be private school students in India and South
Africa. This edition updates a 2001 volume of the same name with a
preponderance of new photos, a colorful design, lightly massaged text, and an
expanded trim size.

This simple, informative photo essay realistically portrays
children’s experiences of schooling around the world. (Informational picture book. 3-8)