Talking Walls: Discover Your World

by Margy Burns Knight, Anne Sibley O'Brien (Illustrator)

If walls could talk, what would they say? Perhaps they would tell us who built them and why. Maybe they could even tell us about people's lives today or about how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago. In this book walls really do talk, and oh, the stories they tell.This new edition combines the beloved children's books Talking Walls and Talking The Stories Continue. Together, those titles sold more than 170,000 copies. This new edition, thoroughly revised by the author, makes the text more accessible to young readers and English Language Learners and produces a book that is ideal for reading aloud. The back matter includes a world map that helps readers locate the many walls described, as well as additional information about the walls, the places, and the people. The Talking Walls books have been much honored,

Genres: Picture Books, Geography, Cultural

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever heard the old observation, “What if the walls could talk!”? A wall may not literally be able to speak, but the fact is that there are a lot of things which walls can reveal to us, especially ones like the Great Wall of China, the Lascaux Cave walls in France, Hadrian’s Wall in England, the Great Zimbabwe walls in southern Africa, the Western or Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, the Holocaust Memorial Wall in Poland, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, and the Berlin Wall of Germany, among many others. What can we learn from studying about these walls?

In 1992 author Margy Burns Knight wrote a book, Talking Walls, about different famous walls and what they tell us, after hearing poet Doug Rawlings read his poem “The Wall” about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. A companion volume, Talking Walls: The Stories Continue, with additional stories, followed in 1996. Together, these titles have sold more than 170,000 copies. This new edition, Talking Walls: Discover Your World, combines and updates the two earlier books, with stories about 26 walls in all. Margy thoroughly revised the text for maximum read-aloud effectiveness and accessibility to English language learners. The back of the book contains additional information about the walls and a world map that identifies their locations. Hearing or reading the stories and looking at the gorgeous illustrations by Anne Sibley O’Brien can open many discussions with youngsters about history, geography, and culture.

[Cemeread · Rating 3 out of 5]

This non-fiction book is about walls around the world from the Berlin wall to the Tokyo Dog wall and ending with Nelson Mandela's prison walls (26 walls in all). Each illustrated spread contains about half a page of text about what might be on the wall, what the wall was used for, where it is located and the importance of it. A world map showing where each wall is located is included along with a bit more information about each wall for those who want to know more. This book would be best for school age children, but for those already interested in history perhaps a wall or two a night could work.

[Samantha Grimaldi]

This book goes around and tells about different monuments/ walls that carry a deeper meaning. It explores the reasons they were created and what they stand for. This can be used to focus on monuments as a whole, on one specific one, or to introduce a bigger topic to students. This is a great resource for students and should be included in the classroom.

[Carolyn Roys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved revisiting several places where I have traveled and learning about them through the eyes of a writer for kids. I know I looked at them differently as an adult. It's a great way to learn about new places and may generate interest in research.

[Colleen McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations and descriptions of walls around the world tell the significance each one has to their region and the rest of the world that leave the reader speechless. An amazing read for all ages, especially to inform others.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

7/8/2019 ~ If you're familiar with the original editions of this book: Talking Walls and Talking Walls: The Story Continues, be sure to take a look at this new, expanded, and updated edition. I'm so impressed with the range of cultures and traditions represented in this wide-ranging look at the role of walls in human art.

[Megan Biter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for older elementary students to combine literacy and history, Margy Burns Knight delves into the different cultures of the world and brings forth how we can understand one another.

[Ashlyn Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to teach about different things all over the world. This book could be used in older classrooms to introduce different subjects.

[Alissah Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the cultural side of the book. The illustrations were well done!