Families Around the World

Readers meet fictional children from 14 nations in this engaging companion to Donata Montanari’s Children Around the World (2001). The children introduce themselves and their families while sharing highlights from their daily routines. Zofia, from Poland, hunts for mushrooms and plays video games with her brother, who uses a wheelchair, while a Kenyan boy named Nkoitoi gathers firewood to cook ugali (a mixture of maize flour and water). There’s a subtle dimensionality to Gordon’s mixed-media paper collages, and a glossary defines the scattering of non-English words—in Pakistan, Murtaza prepares for bed after reading the Qur’an with her family: “Tomorrow, Inshallah, will bring new adventures.” Ages 3–7. (Sept.)