To Be a Kid
PreSchool-Grade 3-From Antigua to Oman, children from a variety of countries are represented in this attractive album. Two to three photographs on each page show the youngsters engaged in a similar activity. The simple, repetitive phrase "To be a kid means..." flows well as an introduction to each set of pictures and follows with a brief description of the activity portrayed. The large and colorful photographs of mostly smiling children imbue the book with a sense of vitality and optimism. The authors successfully convey the idea that children from diverse cultures remain singularly constant in their creative play and love for family and friends. To Be a Kid is remarkably similar to Ajmera's previous publication Children from Australia to Zimbabwe (Charlesbridge, 1997)-even to the point of including a photograph of the same girl from Ecuador taken at a slightly different angle-and compares favorably with Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley's Children Just Like Me (DK, 1995). However, unlike the latter title, it does not contain any factual information about the countries or cultures represented in the book.Paul Kelsey, East Baton Rouge Parish Public Library, LACopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.