This is my World

by Lonely Planet

Meet over 80 real kids from around the globe If you were asked to tell someone across the world about yourself, where would you start? In their own words and photos, more than 80 kids share what's important to them, from their families and hobbies to their favourite sports, foods and animals. Young readers will learn what it's like to live in an orphanage in Zambezi, by a remote fjord in Greenland, on a cattle ranch in Australia, in a traditional whaling community in Alaska, and at an eco-lodge in Costa Rica!
A unique snapshot into the real lives of children in the 21st century
Authentic, funny and eye-opening accounts from every continent
Includes an incredibly diverse group of kids aged 7-12

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural, Childrens

164 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids was a delightful reading experience as 84 children from around the world tell us about their family, where they live, their hobbies and more. Each child enjoys a double page spread, and the eye-catching layouts include photos, flags, maps, fast facts and three adjectives they use to describe themselves.

Cleverly organised alphabetically by first name provides a stimulating criss-crossing of the globe instead of a dull trip alphabetically country by country. This also prevents readers from flipping pages to search for specific countries, although there is a handy index in the back.

Some of the entries are clearly written by the children while some have been helped by their parents, but all were informative, interesting and engaging. I loved learning new things along the way, for instance Noa (aged 10) lives in Japan and she says:

"I like this house because our living room is huge. There is a fireplace and horigotatsu (table-based heater) as well." Page 129

I didn't know what a horigotatsu was so put the book aside to find out and went down a lovely Japanese rabbit hole. They look super cosy and I really hope I get the chance to try one some day.

I was able to identify some similarities between the entries in that a lot of children fight with their siblings (who knew?), many have never seen snow and rabbits are a favourite animal for kids around the world.

According to the Foreward:

"To create this book, we reached out to cattle ranchers in the Australian outback, inhabitants of a fishing capital in Greenland, city dwellers living among skyscrapers in Nigeria and many more families!"

Sounds great but I'd really like to know exactly how they did that. How many children submitted a response and how were these 84 profiles chosen? Some of the children stated their parents were teachers and I found myself wondering if Lonely Planet reached out to schools as part of this project. Not that it's important, I'm just curious.

This is My World by Lonely Planet Kids is a great book suitable for readers young and old and I can highly recommend it.

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book wasn't as diverse as I expected, it's still a wonderful, worthwhile look at how children live in various countries. There is talk and pictures of their families, their hobbies and favorite sports, favorite animals, most favorite and least favorite school subjects, what they eat, where they sleep, the seasons in their countries, interesting places in their countries, what they want to be when they grow up, where they want to travel, etc. Some of the children live in countries with major problems, but the book does not dwell on those problems. Instead it is very much focused on the positive and on the hopes and dreams of the young.

P.S. The child in Alaska is a member of a whale hunting family, which may cause great concern to some readers.

(Note: I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)

[Verushka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this is just such a beautiful book! It’s pretty much 84 kids from around the world, sharing their families, their favourite food, where they go to school and anything else of interest. I like that the entries are all different, because the kids and our world is filled with wonderful differences — but at the same time, young readers will see similarities to these entries, to these kids who may not look like them, but actually share a whole heap of things.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to all three boys.
It was a lovely way to show them just how different life is for children around the world.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute book; would be a good one to read with kids while learning about different countries.

[Alyson Looney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book titled "This Is My World" is a durable book that gives an account of different children's lives from around the world. The pages are colorful and explore different areas of the children's lives such as likes, foods they eat, hobbies, homes, and more. The pages offer more than just pictures of children and their families but it shows pictures of the food they eat, their towns, their hobbies, and so much more.