The World That We Want [Paperback]

Kim Michelle Toft (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–This book offers two-page vistas that incorporate animals found in a variety of habitats, including a mangrove, a tide pool, and a reef. As viewers move from flying pelican to gliding barracuda, Toft creates ever-widening perspectives to reveal how various ecosystems relate to one another. For example, after introducing air, rain forest, and river, she provides a spread that shows all 15 animals previously introduced. This process culminates in an impressive four-page, foldout panorama that includes all 45 animals. The minimal text cumulates as well in a house that Jack built structure: This is the rain forest that filters the air that circles the world that we want. Of course, the underlying message is how easily the intertwined ecosystems can unravel. That idea is reinforced on the concluding five pages. Toft talks about the threats to various habitats and offers a few facts about each animal included in her illustrations. Although some of these creatures are unique to her native Australia, many can be found in other parts of the world as well. The arresting, brilliantly hued illustrations were drawn and painted on silk. This title could serve as an introduction to or culmination of an environmental study or be perused by individuals or small groups trying to locate the animals on each page.–Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Author/Illustrator: Kim Michelle Toft Kim Michelle Toft has been drawing since she was four years old. She has been an art teacher and a graphic designer, and she is now a full-time silk artist. Kim collaborated with Allan Sheather on one less fish. They live in Empire Vale, Australia, with their daughter, Casey.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580891152
• ISBN-13: 978-1580891158
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,322,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost as Good as a Trip to the Beach, October 14, 2004

By 

A. Wood (Ipswich, Austraila) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World That We Want (Hardcover)

This is a fun book to share with kids. Kim Michelle Toft who has written other children's books such as _One Less Fish_ and _Turtle Song_ has achieved a good balance of illustrations and text in The World That We Want. The text is simple with out being dull, and not so long as to have children wanting to turn the page before one reads the last word. The pictures in _The World That We Want_ demand careful study in the same way that a wonder of nature captures a child's attention. These illustrations, originally made as silk paintings, are bright and eye catching with out being simplistic. Their detail draws one in to taking a closer look. We could not resist meeting the book's challenge to find the 45 creatures that are hiding in the book's different habitats. Reading by younger children is made easy through the book's mimicking of the rhythm from _The House That Jack Build_ while constant repetition builds reading confidence. Listening to my 10 year old son read this book aloud and the time we spent searching through it's pages together shall remain a 'quality time' memory for me and I'm sure for him also. Facts at the back of this book provide enough material to help parents answer any questions about the names, habits, and homes of the beach loving creatures featured in this glossy hard cover storybook. The book's message that the world is made up of environmentally interconnected habitats and we want to keep it that way is clearly presented without being sentimental or pushy. Read _The World That We Want_ for a fun time with kids and an opportunity to build excitement and appreciation for the world we live in.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully scripted and illustrated homage to nature's delicate balance, January 13, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World That We Want (Paperback)

The World That We Want is written and illustrated by Kim Michelle Toft who teaches young readers ages 4 to 9 about the interconnectedness of the world's environments and ecosystems. A beautifully scripted and illustrated homage to nature's delicate balance from the air that surrounds the planet, to the rivers that make the rain forests possible, to the corals that shape the atolls, to the dangers facing these delicate environments and information about the many plants and animals that thrive in each identified habitat, "The World That We Want" is enthusiastically recommended reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art, Essential Connections, May 26, 2009

By 

A. Donnelly (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World That We Want (Paperback)

This book is magnificently illustrated, with beautiful images and intense colors. The detail is also impressive (at least to this non-biologist). What made me buy it was the poem. Each page builds another line, going from the air, passing through the rocky shore, to the deep ocean. The connection between our life on land and life in the ocean is made far more effectively than other books I've seen, in words and images. Simply stunning!