Back to School: A Global Journey

This simple, informative photo essay realistically portrays children's experiences of schooling around the world.

This photographic survey updated from 2001 uses simple captions ("Doing long-division math in Jordan") and images from a variety of sources to celebrate some ways that schools globally ignite children's curiosity and connect them to dedicated teachers, new friends, and a wider world. Whether studying "motors and electricity" (Ghana) or on a field trip to a local potter (Thailand), whether children get to school by camel (Mongolia) or boat (Myanmar), "going to school is a big step toward growing up and learning to be responsible," write Ajmera and Ivanko (To Be a Kid) in the afterword. The image quality is uneven, but in the best photographs—best friend pairs in India and Kyrgyzstan, a Cote d'Ivoire child who flashes a beaming smile—children regard the camera with delight and pride. Ages 4-8. (June)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

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.
—Kirkus Reviews