One Day, So Many Ways

One Day, So Many Ways

2018

Ratings1

Average rating3

15

This is a good introduction to understand how children live a common day in different parts of the world. We go through the day with them: waking up, eating breakfast, going to school, playing with friends, eating a snack, learning to be quiet, playing sport, making art, homework, family time, helping out, dinner, reading, bed time and dreams.

Unfortunately, there were many incorrect or stereotypical informations in this book. Where are the kids and parents with disabilities? Where are the single dads? Where are the same-sex parents? Most of the time, the mother was the one taking care of the kids, except for weekend and fun activities

The description of France was very caricatural: “French people eat around 30,000 tones of snails per year”, knowing that most French people don't eat snails, and that they are mostly eaten by tourists. The Senegal flag was also missing at the end of the book, maybe due to ARC version of the book that I read.

The illustrations were mostly good, with a vintage feel to them, but sometimes they could have been improved: “Ava and Luis meet their mom at the school gates. They cycle home together with bike helmets on”, and on the illustration they are not wearing helmets.

It's hard to make a book about one detail of a country without being stereotypical, and I feel like it could have been better.

Thank you NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read and reviewed: 2018-11-05

November 5, 2018