If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States

by David J. Smith, Shelagh Armstrong

Overview

This important book teaches children all about the large, diverse country of America - past, present and future - using a simple metaphor of a village of just 100 people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771386487
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	08/01/2009
Series:	CitizenKid Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	40 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

David J. Smith is a teacher and educational consultant with over 25 years of experience in the classroom and is the creator of the award-winning curriculum "Mapping the World by Heart." ;

Editorial Reviews

This timely follow-up to If the World Were a Village offers a thought-provoking perspective on the people who make up America. Organized by overarching questions such as “Where do we come from?” and “What do we use?” the text illustrates the ethnic divisions, income levels and material consumption (among othercategories) of Americans—were America a theoretical village containing only 100 people. In a section on religion, bullet-points demonstrate the breakdown of religious persuasions within America—“82 consider themselves Christians... 2 are Buddhists... 1 is Jewish”—followed by a comparison with the “whole world” (if it were a village). Armstrong’s cheerful, smudgy paintings balance the text’s heaviness, and an afterword directed at adult readers provides suggestions for imparting the important but complex message to children. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2–6—As in If the World Were a Village, Smith and Armstrong help children understand large statistical numbers by collapsing the U.S. population of 300 million down to a village of 100. For example, "82 people in our village speak English as their first language, 10 speak Spanish. 1 speaks Chinese, 1 French and 1 German." Other languages that represent less than one whole person are also mentioned. Topics explored include family make-up, religions, jobs, ages, wealth, items owned, energy and water use, and health. Comparisons are sometimes made with historical data to show change and with worldwide numbers for contrast. Lively, cheerful acrylic paintings depict the diversity of our country in a somewhat idealized manner that suits the all-inclusive tone of the book. While the concept is successful in making huge numbers more comprehensible, statistics are known to be slippery, and attempts to classify people by race and ethnic and cultural groups are not always straightforward. Does the term "Hispanic" identify a distinct group? Some say yes, others no; Smith identifies the village as having 75 white members, 12 black, 4 Asian, 1 Native American, and 8 who consider themselves "members of some other race or of mixed race," noting that he's including Hispanics with whites. While readers may or may not agree with Smith's interpretations of the figures, he lists extensive bibliographic resources and provides suggestions for ways to engage children in considering their country and its place in the larger world. At the very least, the book will provoke discussion; ideally, it will inspire deeper thought and consideration of "what distinguishes America from other countries andAmericans from other people."—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

Smith and Armstrong follow up If the World Were a Village (2002) with a similarly eye-opening portrait of the United States as a "village" of 100 people (roughly one per 3,000,000). Paired to impressionistic street and crowd scenes viewed, generally, from a high angle, the simplified statistics encapsulate our ethnic origins, family structures, religions, energy use, occupations, health and wealth in easy-to-understand units: "82 people in our village speak English as their first language. 10 speak Spanish. 1 speaks Chinese, 1 French and 1 German." Using this methodology, the author tracks historical changes in many categories, shovels data into his narrative in different ways to stave off monotony, often lays out comparisons with other countries or the rest of the world and even offers occasional discussions of what the numbers signify or reveal. A solid source list lends authority to his rounded-off numbers. The premise isn't new, but it's never been used to better effect for deepening the understanding that children have about the 306 million (and counting) other people with whom they share this land. (Informational picture book. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews

The premise isn’t new, but it’s never been used to better effect for deepening the understanding that children have about the 306 million (and counting) other people with whom they share this land.

A whole new way to think about our country.

From the Publisher

A whole new way to think about our country.

Booklist