Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace

by Shelley Moore Thomas, Eric Futran (Photographer)

Overview

1999 Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College
2002 CCBC Children's Choices

Somewhere in the world each day, people just like you are acting in kind, peaceful, loving ways. Perhaps they are visiting someone who is old, teaching a little sister to ride a bike, or sharing an experience with a friend from a different culture. With its poetic text and appealing, vibrant photographs, this book shows some of the simple ways in which any child or grownup can make the world a better place.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807575444
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/01/1998
Series:	Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback Ser.
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	190,173
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shelley Moore Thomas teaches first and second grade in New Mexico where she is also a storyteller known locally as "the Story Queen." She lives in New Mexico with her husband, two daughters, and their three dogs.

Eric Futran is a well-known culinary photographer and has photographed kids for several children's books. He lives in Illinois.

Editorial Reviews

"A greeting card of a book illustrated with full-color photographs of multiethnic children and adults…The book is visually appealing and offers a proactive, if somewhat simplistic, approach to creating a better world."—School Library Journal

"The book is a bit like the good deeds it describes—a modest step in the right direction; the author wisely averts didacticism through her use of cogent, everyday examples."—Publishers Weekly

1999 Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College
2002 CCBC Children's Choices

From the Publisher

"This affirming prose poem asserts that peace begins with simple gestures. The author wisely averts didacticism through her use of cogent, everyday examples," said PW. Ages 5-9. (Mar.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

This affirming prose poem asserts that peace begins with simple gesturesacts in which any child might take part: "someone/ is/ visiting/ a/ friend/ who/ is/ old"; "someone/ is/ planting/ a/ tree." Some of the peace-promoting acts involve crossing cultural boundaries, such as whacking a piata or learning to master chopsticks. Thomas (Putting the World to Sleep) quietly makes readers aware of the kindness and pleasures around us. Her spare text and repeating phraseseach page begins with the words "Somewhere today.../ someone/ is..."play off well against the warmth and specificity of Futran's photographs. In some, the multicultural families and kids smile happily for the camera; in others, they seem entirely absorbed in their activities. The numerous pictures, varying in size, proportions and quality, show children horsing around, celebrating or concentrating (a few appear washed-out or slightly blurry). The book is a bit like the good deeds it describesa modest step in the right direction; the author wisely averts didacticism through her use of cogent, everyday examples. Ages 5-9. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 2--A greeting card of a book illustrated with full-color photographs of multiethnic children and adults. The premise is that all over the world, people are helping one another, and in doing so, they are bringing about peace: "Somewhere today...someone is being a friend instead of fighting" or "someone is fixing old toys to give to new friends." Each double-page spread provides an example of a positive action in large type, along with several candid photographs of the individuals involved in bringing it about. A doctor cares for an infant, a boy teaches his sister to ride a bike, two youngsters visit an elderly woman, a family plants trees, etc. The book is visually appealing and offers a proactive, if somewhat simplistic, approach to creating a better world.--Lisa Von Drasek, Bank Street College Library, New York City

School Library Journal