Wonderful Houses Around the World

by Yoshio Komatsu, Akira Nishiyama, Naoko Amemiya

A picture is worth a thousand words; the 10 photos in this book, along with the accompanying descriptive detailed drawings, make this a very informative book for children. There has never been a photographer of buildings like Yoshio Komatsu. He has travelled extensively around the world for 25 years, photographing hand-built homes. Photos from Mongolia, China,, Indonesia, India, Romania, Tunisia, Spain, Togo, Senegal, and Bolivia. Each structure is beautifully photographed, and then colorfully rendered in pen and wash, with many descriptive captions explaining the everyday life of children and families in these homes.

Genres: Geography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, History, 1st Grade, Architecture

48 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2004

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fabulous picture-book survey of different types of houses from around the world profiles ten structures from ten countries, starting with a photograph by Yoshio Komatsu, and then proceeding to an illustrated peek at the interior, with artwork by Akira Nishiyama. From a felt-covered yurt in Mongolia, to the earthen castles of Togo, the houses in question are all built from natural materials, and are all clearly adaptations to the prevailing environmental circumstances of their respective regions. The Romanian house, with the "eyes" in its roof, is made all of wood - something that is easily explained by its location in the forests of the Maramures area. By contrast, the acorn-shaped houses of the Chipaya people of Bolivia are constructed from blocks cut from the local root-tangled earth - the only building material available on the wide plateau upon which they live.

A book that is both informative and entertaining - I found myself thinking that the Chinese tulou, a sort of circular apartment complex with nesting layers of buildings, was (in addition to being incredibly cool!) the perfect setting for a fantastic civilization or world - Wonderful Houses Around the World is a book I would recommend to young readers who are curious about the diverse peoples and cultures of the earth. I think my favorite, of the houses depicted, were the underground homes of Tunisia and Spain (perfect adaptations to extreme surface conditions!), and kept wishing for more information, about them and the other houses. A wonderful book about a wonderful subject, it has only one flaw: there isn't enough of it! Not enough houses, and not enough detail. I'm ready for the sequel...

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent and interesting book that shows examples of houses from the sub-cultures of ten different countries.

For each type of house, there’s a page showing a photograph, or photographs, of the house and a description, and sometimes its inhabitants and possessions, then there’s a page/pages which have a drawing of what the inside of the house looks like and all its contents, inside & outside, and a box that tells who lives there, how many are in the family and the nature of their relationships.

There’s also a cool map at the beginning of the book that shows each area marked with its type of house.

This is a children’s book but it’s fine for any age; I learned quite a bit.

My only quibble with these books is I always want many more examples. It was especially frustrating with this book because the author-photographer states that he has visited and photographed so many more houses than appear in this book. It seems he has created other books showing other houses he’s photographed.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, I think, a very good book to educate elementary-age children about life (and architecture) in far-flung parts of the world. Each entry included photographs of the home, as well as a cross-section drawing and an explanation as to what each room was used for, as well as the function of any unusual architectural features. (I was particularly intrigued by the home with a roof shaped like an inverted funnel, which was used to collect rainwater in its dry desert surroundings.) I am an adult, and I learned a lot from this book, but I think it would be quite easy for the six-to-eight crowd to understand and enjoy.

[Julie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave us a chance to see 10 types of homes from around the world that we would have never otherwise known existed. SO interesting, great for kids and adults.

[Sara Ullery · Rating 5 out of 5]

• This is a wonderful picture book with descriptions of different houses around the world. It is a wonderful book that will educate children on how people live in different cultures around the world. It has information on day to day activities for each different home.
• Teachers may use this for Geography, History, Multicultural lessons
• Ages 5-12 Grades K-7
• Individual students may spend time reading this book and admiring the illustrations of the different homes people live in.
• Small groups may read this book together and then use a map to identify where these people live and what they need to survive.
• A whole class may read this book together then build their own houses using raw materials found near the school. They will write a report on the different types of homes from around the world and the benefits of using a home like these.
• This book is NONfiction
• It is available in libraries, Ebooks

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book to introduce children to other cultures. Very interesting. I read it with my 8-yr-old son. He loves it and has been looking at it frequently on his own. It leans toward being almost too brief for him. There were so many things he wanted to know about which the book gave no information. It would likely be ideal for a 5 or 6-yr-old, or as part of a larger study on global cultures, where each of these societies are delved into on a deeper level using other resources as well.

[Nicki Beckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very insightful book to read with my eight year old about how people live and how their homes differ from ours. My daughter was sad when we came to the end, she loved it!!

[Caristy Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book with explanations on who lives in certain houses and how the houses are unique. The photographs are beautiful and illustrations are beautiful. My son loved all the different photos and talking about who lives in each house.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this book because it looked like a photographic version of one of my all-time favorite picture books, Come Over to My House. And it didn't disappoint. Especially the house in China where 300 people live in a circle! What a boundary-expanding book!

[Debrarian]

Totally cool (if too brief) book featuring external photos and illustrations of the insides of fascinating human domiciles of all sorts.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a fantastic book!!! My kids loved it and spent hours looking at the incredible photos and drawings. It inspired much creativity in their drawings and craft times....

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. The photographs were amazing! I wish this kind of nonfiction exsited when I was a kid.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photos and illustrations of unique homes around the world.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating book! It is a children's picture book about interesting houses made by people around the world. I loved how it included photos of the houses and then drawings of the inside and how each room was utilized.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my second grader. A nice visual of houses around the world!

[Clare]

rating and review to come