Back to School

by Maya Ajmera, John D. Ivanko, Global Fund for Children

BACK TO SCHOOL invites young minds to sit in the front row and share the exciting experience of learning with kids just like themselves all over the world. Whether they take a school bus, a boat, or a rickshaw to get there, kids around the globe are going to school and growing smarter and more curious every day.

Beautiful, joy-filled, color photographs of children studying, learning, exploring, and having fun from nation to nation, will inspire readers of all ages with the excitement of discovery and sharing new ideas.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, School, Back To School

Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Maya Ajmera is the founder of The Global Fund for Children. She is the co-author of several Global Fund for Children books, including FAITH, GLOBAL BABIES, CHILDREN OF THE U.S.A., and CHILDREN FROM AUSTRALIA TO ZIMBABWE.

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

GoodReads only has the Kindle Edition of this cool nonfiction picture book listed, but I read a hardcover edition that I found at my local library. It's new, so it's definitely worth looking for. The concept is simple: awesome photographs and descriptions of children attending school in different parts of the world. The illustrations do a great job of showing young readers things that they will recognize from their own school experiences, and of course things that are a little different. But the book goes a long way towards the unity that we want children to acquire - kids all over the world share the experience of going to school to learn, make friends, and live in community.

[Brenda Kahn]

A beautiful informational photoessay about schooling and school activities from around the world. The photos are crisp, clear and full-color. Short captions explain each with a longer author's note at the back.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children from all over the world are featured in this non-fiction picture book about going to school. Each aspect of school is covered from how we get there, to what we learn, and what tools we use to learn with as well as many other things that occur in a school setting. The basic goal of the book is to show that even though things might look different in other cultures that the goal of education is the same worldwide.
Created to help support The Global Fund for Children, this book along with its companion titles (To Be a Kid, To Be an Artist, and Be My Neighbor) gives part of the proceeds to grassroots organizations around the world that help children advance. The photographs are extremely charming and really explore how children live around the world. The short and lively text allows for both reading aloud by an adult to groups and classes and also for young new readers to explore on their own with good results. The final spread features a world map showing all the countries included in the photographs highlighted in color and five more paragraphs with further information about school around the world. I would highly recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Beth Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of children go to school but is it the same for everyone? This book takes us on a journey through the world with pictures of students doing different things throughout their school day. Children get to see that no school is the same but that there is still learning occurring.
This would be a great book to use for background knowledge for social studies. It could also be used for basic map skills and geography for younger readers. The pictures are beautiful throughout the book. For students in second and third grade, could be a good starting point for country reports.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My edition of the book is from 2019. I think it's a wonderful look at how children attend school around the world. The pictures are colorful and engaging and the text succinct and descriptive. A great book for a home or school library.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book with great pictures showing school around the world.
Also explaining why it is necessary to go to school ( if kid is wondering :) ).

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this non-fiction picture book. It was informative and had simple text. I really enjoyed the photographs.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photos and captions showing how kids all over the world go to school and learn.

[Brady]

Kindergarten

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with incredible photographs, this nonfiction picture book explores the different ways that children attend school throughout the world. Some children are homeschooled, others are taught at night, still others study in crowded classrooms. Children take different transportation to school from buses to camels to boats. Some children wear uniforms to school while others wear regular clothes. In all schools though, you learn math and reading. You understand the world better; you make friends.

The text of this book is simple and straight-forward, making it just right for even the youngest children heading to school. Each photograph adds to the larger story of going to school by explaining what is happening in each vivid image and what country the children are from. The photographs are stunning, filled with children from across the globe and offering real glimpses into their lives at school.

Just right for starting a new school year, this is a smile-filled joyous look at learning. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's wonderful for children to see their peers from all over the world IN school, traveling there, and doing activities like science, art, music, learning new languages, and sports. There is added information at the back with a world map, which includes where and how one learns, who is the teacher, good students and making friends. The very best about the book is the myriad of photographs of the world's beautiful children, smiling, interested in their learning, dressed for the schooling, happy! You can see one example from that wonderful cover. Thanks to Charlesbridge for the copy.

[Colleen]

Let's Go to School - unit 1
More Read Alouds

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comparision of differnt school factors around the world comparing them in simple ways with real life pictures. Elementary and up