03/08/2021
Okunev's vibrant chapter book encourages young readers to embrace the study of geography by introducing the science through the observant eyes of a youngster and his talkative stuffed toys. A commotion breaks loose as eager toys discuss the young narrator's favorite book, a world atlas. The menagerie is uninformed but curious: The rhino announces it would like to visit Africa, the penguin feels he would be comfortable in Antarctica, and the kangaroo insists they all make a trip to Australia, as it's less cold and less hot than the other choices. Having read more books than others, the owl announces that everybody should take care to learn geography, the science that, as he puts it, "studies our planet and everything on it." The toys study their “big home” (the Earth) and their “little home,” right down to their immediate surroundings -- the rules of geography can even help explain the organization of their apartment.
Katya Kolmakov and Olga Baron's evocative and charming illustrations suffuse Okunev's tale with splendor and warmth, and their vivid brushstrokes adeptly support the focus and intention of the story. Brimming with facts, information, and profound perspectives, Okunev's tale juggles several goals for his readers. At once, the book is an adequate introduction to geography and also a condensed ode to environmentalism, cartography, and imagination.
The unidentified narrator’s age remains ambiguous, but his tone and the maturity is inconsistent. Often, he is decidedly incisive and perceptive, but at other occasions, naïve and artless. The pacing suffers hiccups when the tale's premise is set twice within ten pages of each other, while sometimes laborious detailing of the characters and settings diminish the story's focus. Thought-provoking calls-to-actions at the end of all four chapters will engage readers and invite questions. Ultimately, this chapter book unfolds as an engrossing and informative read that mostly achieves its bold ambitions -- and in retaining the readers' attention.
Takeaway: Illuminating and often delightful, this picture book invites young readers to appreciate the world through the lens of Geography.
Great for fans of: Salvatore Rubbino’s A Walk in London, Kate Siber’s National Parks of the USA, Katie Wilson’s Landmarks.
Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: B+ Illustrations: B+ Editing: B- Marketing copy: B+
2021-02-08
A child and their stuffed animals play a geography-focused imagination game.
In Okunev’s debut children’s book, translated by Kolmakov, our nameless narrator’s multitudinous stuffed animals find a world atlas and insist on international travel—but instead, their child proposes that they study the principles of geography indoors. Walls become mountains, the rug becomes a stadium, the kitchen becomes a farm, and the parents’ bedroom becomes the “financial center” of the country. Illustrators Kolmakov and Baron alternate gentle pencil-and-watercolor paintings in soft pastels with more cartoonish acrylic-on-canvas paintings in bright colors. In the style of Winnie-the-Pooh or Raggedy Ann, the protagonist’s benevolent commands and explanations are taken in good faith by the toys; this fantasy of authority may appeal to young readers interested in exerting agency. While each stuffed animal has a personality (Little Hedgehog is sensitive; Owl is wise), the huge array of toys—crocodile, raccoon, monkey, shark, penguin, lion, elephant, rhino, turtle—prevents readers from getting to know any characters well. The author, a geographer, wrote about his field for adults in his recent book Political Geography (2020). He brings that knowledge and passion to bear here; however, introductory ideas about geography's purpose may need a clearer, more child-friendly approach. A few maps of the apartment and the characters’ neighborhood rendered from a bird’s-eye view occur throughout, but there are no maps of real places or vocabulary terms that might help youngsters read their own atlases. Prompts between chapters are oriented toward creativity: “How is your kingdom organized? Where do your toys live and what do they do?”
An inventive, mild adventure for young storytellers and monarchs; for maps and information, look elsewhere.
