Nonfiction Spotlight: If the World Were 100 People

Most of the time you come to the Bremen Book Nook for fiction recommendations, but I'll be starting a new feature with a spotlight on nonfiction. We have some truly wonderful nonfiction books in our children's collection and I'll be highlighting them through this new feature.  

The first book I'll be featuring was just added to our shelves, you can find it in our catalog here to place it on hold or add it to a reading list. 

If the World Were 100 People by Jackie McCann

The Facts:

Title: If the World were 100 PeopleAuthor: Jackie McCannPublisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 7/20/2021Lexile: 830L

Target Audience: Preschool-3rd Grade

Summary:

With almost 7.8 billion people sharing the earth, it can be a little hard to picture what the human race looks like all together. But if we could shrink the world down to just 100 people, what could we learn about the human race? What would we look like? Where and how would we all be living? This book answers all these questions and more!

Reliably sourced and deftly illustrated, If the World Were 100 People is the perfect starting point to understanding our world and becoming a global citizen. If we focus on just 100 people, it's easier to see what we have in common and what makes us unique. Then we can begin to appreciate each other and also ask what things we want to change in our world.

The Experts Say:

Kirkus Positive Review

Publisher's Weekly Positive Review

School Library Journal Starred Review

"This is a terrific find for social studies teachers who want to promote inquiry and active citizenship" --School Library Journal, starred review

"Visually engaging...An informative, appealing primer on societal data." --Publishers Weekly

"A book worth reading many times over, discussing, and a call to take action, regardless of someone’s age."--Books to Borrow . . . Books to Buy

Miss Kate Says:

This book would be a wonderful conversation starter for children, youth, and adults. It can be hard to visualize just how many people live in the world. When we look at the numbers it can be easy for our minds to gloss over them and our brains don't really comprehend an accurate representation of what they mean. By looking at the numbers through the lens of 100 people it can be much easier for our brains to comprehend those numbers.

Through colorful illustrations, you can literally see the numbers before your eyes. 100 people divided up on the page by certain criteria they live their life with: their access to food, whether or not they have safe homes, and their ability to read to name a few. This book is sure to make anyone who reads it think about the resources available to them in contrast to others around the world. The illustrations will pull in even the most reluctant of readers and spark curiosity in readers of all ages. 

After breaking down the current numbers, the author asks us to think about what the future may hold and how our global village can work together for future generations.

If you'd like to read more on global numbers, check out Worldometer or Our World in Data.

If you'd like to read more about global citizenship, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) has some helpful information about Global Citizenship Education.