Our World

“Within this one board book, children will have a sense of the clothing, jewelry, sights, and sounds of another country, vividly evoked by paintings and in language, and stamped with the love of the families shown” – School Library Journal Drawing on both its creators’ roots, this entry in the brilliant Our World series introduces the nation of India and its culture by allowing little readers to “spend a day” there. It begins with a friendly “Namaste!” as a mother and daughter greet the morning. Neethi’s bright colors and striking contrasts are a welcoming visual hook, delivering in double-spreads all the vibrancy associated with Indian art as mother and daughter hit the usual beats of a child’s day, playing, cleaning, eating, walking, playing again, and finally sleeping. All of their experiences give glimpses of the country’s landscape, wildlife, architecture, fashion, food, technology, and more—all of it radiating beauty and joy. Naturally inserted into Sriram’s gently rhythmic text are common Hindi words (namaste, kala tika, dal) and numbers (one through three), each of which comes paired with the Hindi script and a pronunciation guide, and two back matter spreads expand just enough on the concepts introduced within. Beautifully compiled and gently informative, this is an exceptional part of a must-have series for board-book collections. — Ronny Khuri