This Is How We Do It

April 15, 2017
Children from around the world describe "how we do it."As described in an author's note, seven children and families (from Italy, Japan, Peru, Russia, Uganda, India, and Iran) provided photos and information on daily life used as research for stylized yet realistic digital illustrations that fill this large-format, very attractive picture book and the text. Each section starts with a statement: "This is me"; "This is where I live." The explanatory text for each child can sometimes feel static, with occasional words defined in the glossary, but it is really the contrasting pictures, side by side, that are the attraction here. Many double-page spreads show examples from all seven countries, such as the page that focuses on chores. All seven children describe their tasks: Daphine, from Uganda, sweeps the yard with a small broom; Oleg, from Russia, vacuums; and Ribaldo, from Peru, helps with farming. Occasional topics demand multiple double-page spreads, as in a sequence that shows the children's varying paths to school. No real social issues are mentioned, although a flashlight illuminates Ribaldo's table as he helps his brother with homework, and Daphine has 69 children in her class at a "private school." All families introduced are headed by heterosexual parents. Actual photos of each family appear at the end, and the endpapers feature a world map with the homes of the seven children indicated. A global introduction that goes beyond the usual symbols and sights. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

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May 1, 2017

K-Gr 3-An illustrated take on how seven real kids from different countries go about a typical day. Each spread introduces a new topic (family, teachers, chores, dinner, play, etc.) and dedicates a panel to each child, identified by country, with glossary words underlined ("Iran: I live in a second-floor apartment in the city of Gorgan, close to the Caspian Sea."). Lamothe was able to create the digitally rendered illustrations based on photos sent to him by the families featured (a family photo for each child is included at the end). The muted palette in combination with the level of detail makes for a pleasing visual experience. An ending spread with a night sky scattered with stars and a glowing full moon is accompanied by the words, "This is my night sky," hinting that though these kids may lead very different lives, they all sleep under the same sky. In the "Meet the Families" section, Lamothe emphasizes that "not everyone in Peru likes to play soccer, and not everyone in Japan eats fish for breakfast," smartly communicating that the work is just one representation of much larger, complex communities. Endpapers provide a visual map of each child's name and country, including a cameo of the author. VERDICT A good purchase to refresh social science and geography collections.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

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Starred review from June 1, 2017
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Meet Romeo, Kei, Daphine, Oleg, Ananya, Kian, and Ribaldo, seven real children from Italy, Japan, Uganda, Russia, India, Iran, and Peru, whose lives are compared through detailed, painterly illustrations and succinct, descriptive text. The book follows each child through a single day, displaying what each is doing at a particular moment in neat, side-by-side illustrated panels. Author-illustrator Lamothe compiled the book with the help of friends, family members, and connections with the featured children, who shared their lives with him through e-mail, texts, and photographs, making this a work of true collaboration. The result is instructive and personal. It takes the ordinary This is where I live; This is what I eat for breakfast; This is how I play and renders it in a refreshingly unromanticized manner. Romeo has a vineyard in his backyard; Kei has miso soup and grilled cod for breakfast; and Kian goes horseback riding. The similarities and differences between the seven lives are both delicate and astonishing in their details, and readers will enjoy examining the images repeatedly to note the surprises they reveal. An author's note, a glossary, a map, and photographs of the families round out the book with a nice personal touch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)