Through a steamy rain forest in Brazil, along a river in Papua New Guinea, across a frozen inlet in the arctic, this book takes young children on a far-reaching journey to discover how babies worldwide are carried and what they see from their unique vantage points. “This is an exquisite book, for the detailed, folk-art style gouache illustrations, its overall design, and the wealth of information it includes.”--Kirkus Reviews
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?This lovely book looks at how people from various countries carry their youngsters while going about their daily chores. Each double-page spread introduces a different culture from a child's point of view. Gouache paintings done in rich, deeply saturated colors appear opposite a page of simple text that explains a little bit about the people and their activities. The artwork conveys the action clearly and provides an appealing glimpse of each locale. At the end of the book, explanatory notes offer additional details. On the end papers, a map of the world shows the approximate location of the people depicted in the text. Young readers will notice the similarities among these diverse groups, not only in the ways babies are carried but also in some of the caregivers' chores. Use this book with Ann Morris's Bread, Bread, Bread (Lothrop, 1989), Edith Baer's This Is the Way We Go to School (Scholastic, 1992), Norah Dooley's Everybody Cooks Rice (Carolrhoda, 1991), or Nigel Gray's A Country Far Away (Orchard, 1989) to celebrate our multicultural world.?Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 5^-7. As her mother makes tortillas, a Guatemalan infant is rocked in a shawl tied around her mother's body. Riding in a sling balanced on his grandfather's hip, a young boy watches his father gather honey in the rain forest of central Africa. Bernhard maintains "we can learn about a culture by finding out how its people carry their babies," but in this book, how the children are carried seems of lesser importance then what they see from their unusual vantage points. Short, simple descriptions of the daily activities going on around the infants are accompanied by colorful, primitive-style gouache paintings depicting the landscape and the dress of the people. A section of notes, with background information and interesting tidbits about each culture, is appended. Lauren Peterson
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My two year old daughter and I really enjoy this book! The illustrations are very colorful and vibrant. I love the fact that she is learning about different cultures in a fun context. We really enjoy reading this book togther and discussing the pictures and what the babies and mommies and daddies and grandparents are doing. This is a truly wonderful book that depicts babies as a sweet part of daily life - not seperate from it. This book also validates our way of life for our daughter [breastfeeding and carrying her in a sling]. Its a really nice book all the way around. I look forward to reading it for years to come.
Update 11/2010 - ten years later and we still read this book on a regular basis. I am on "baby" #6 now, who is the current "two year old" and she loves this beautiful book just as much as the first baby did - and all the babies in between. This is a timeless, wonderful book. Buy it! :)
Update 11/2010 - ten years later and we still read this book on a regular basis. I am on "baby" #6 now, who is the current "two year old" and she loves this beautiful book just as much as the first baby did - and all the babies in between. This is a timeless, wonderful book. Buy it! :)
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was a little surprised to read so many reviews which focused on the baby carrying aspect of this book. Yes, in every example the child is carried by a family member. Children are woven into the fabric of our lives and this books shows that very well. But what I find most fascinating about this lovely book -- and what my daughter loves too -- is the sheer diversity of regions and lifestyles covered.
Each two page spread (one large illustration, one page of text) contains two paragraphs of detailed kid-friendly information. In just a few sentences you learn where the people live, what their climate and culture is like, and how they support their families. Although it is extremely informative, the tone is very warm and not at all dry -- your chid will not feel as though he is being subjected to a geography lesson! Many pages talk about the gathering of food and I find it fascinating to see the number of differences among us. Yet each family is tied together by the shared love of their children. It is a wonderful and reassuring message: we are different yet we are the same. Another thing I especially like about this book is that it takes place in one day -- the pages go from dawn to dark -- and you can see how the day unfolds all around the world.
The inside front and back covers of the book show a map of the world and the location of each family. The last few pages of the book also give additional information about each culture. The author and illustrator did an excellent job of demonstrating true diversity. Although we are used to seeing "multiculturalism" in the form of token comments about other regions of the world (often the same regions each time!), this book does an outstanding job. No one culture gets more exposure than another and the information is presented in a respectful way.
Lastly, the peoples shown in this book are: the Maya, the Balinese, the Mbuti, the Tuareg, the Inuit, the Mandingo, the Hmong, the Yanomama, the Nepali, the Papuans, and the Quechua. I highly recommend this book for all young children. It could also be used very effectively in teaching, as was pointed out in an earlier review.
Each two page spread (one large illustration, one page of text) contains two paragraphs of detailed kid-friendly information. In just a few sentences you learn where the people live, what their climate and culture is like, and how they support their families. Although it is extremely informative, the tone is very warm and not at all dry -- your chid will not feel as though he is being subjected to a geography lesson! Many pages talk about the gathering of food and I find it fascinating to see the number of differences among us. Yet each family is tied together by the shared love of their children. It is a wonderful and reassuring message: we are different yet we are the same. Another thing I especially like about this book is that it takes place in one day -- the pages go from dawn to dark -- and you can see how the day unfolds all around the world.
The inside front and back covers of the book show a map of the world and the location of each family. The last few pages of the book also give additional information about each culture. The author and illustrator did an excellent job of demonstrating true diversity. Although we are used to seeing "multiculturalism" in the form of token comments about other regions of the world (often the same regions each time!), this book does an outstanding job. No one culture gets more exposure than another and the information is presented in a respectful way.
Lastly, the peoples shown in this book are: the Maya, the Balinese, the Mbuti, the Tuareg, the Inuit, the Mandingo, the Hmong, the Yanomama, the Nepali, the Papuans, and the Quechua. I highly recommend this book for all young children. It could also be used very effectively in teaching, as was pointed out in an earlier review.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I enjoy this book as much as my daughter does. It's refreshing to see the many ways parents around the world carry their children with them and involve them in the adults' daily activities. I also like that my daughter sees a book reflecting other cultures and grows up with more of a global sense rather than being US-centric.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book! Babywearing around the world!
Love the book! Awesome read! For all the babywearing mamas out there, you'll LOVE sharing this with your child(ren)!! Hope you enjoy!
Published 1 month ago by NaturalHomemaker
5.0 out of 5 stars
We LOVE this book!
We are huge fans of babywearing in our family, and this book is fantastic! It is beautifully written and illustrated. It quickly became one of our favorites and we read it often.
Published 1 month ago by Christine Langager
5.0 out of 5 stars
Humanism and Globalism for kids and the rest of us
I'm researching books on race/ethnicity/adoption for children, and I've yet to come across a book like this one. Read more
Published on February 11, 2011 by Vilna Bashi Treitler
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute!
I purchased this book for my 2 year old because I want to have some kids books that show life like we live it. Read more
Published on March 29, 2010 by Natalie
5.0 out of 5 stars
a nice way to introduce different cultures to your young one
this is a cute book to introduce a sample of the different cultures of the world. It illustrates how different people live their lives from our "modern lifestyles". Read more
Published on March 24, 2009 by The Original Tree Hugger, LLC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this one for my little one
The illustrations are beautiful. I love the way it goes through different cultures showing the examples of babywearing. We are a babywearing family, so it fits in perfect for him.
Published on August 16, 2008 by I Osilaja
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
This is a lovely picture book that talks about babywearing around the world. We are a babywearing family, so it's a nice addition to our collection, but it's valuable for any... Read more
Published on March 2, 2008 by Mama of 2 boys
4.0 out of 5 stars
A ride for baby
This book is not only colorful and entertaining, it is very educational. There is a picture of babies and their family members carrying them in a variety of carriers and positions. Read more
Published on February 8, 2008 by C.Me.Talk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book great advocacy item!
If you babywear then this is the book to get your kids.. this is a great book full of vidid illustration and color :) It's a great educational tool for any babywearing meetings as... Read more
Published on November 24, 2007 by Kalohabreeze
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
My daughter loves this book,she loves looking at all the pictures and enjoys hearing about the babies and kids around the world that are lucky enough to be worn. Read more
Published on November 7, 2007 by C. Smith
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