Adventures to School: Real-Life Journeys of Students from Around the World

by Miranda Paul, Baptiste Paul, Isabel Muñoz (Illustrator)

Overview

Kids around the world get to school in unique ways. Take a peek inside this book and see how they reach their destinations!

Children all around the world go to school. Whether they're from Japan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, or the United States, all students have the desire to learn about the world and shape the future. In Bhutan, children walk for three hours to make it to school, and in Pakistan, children travel by rickshaw. Some children in China must climb a heaven ladder, while children in Nepal must walk over a wire bridge. The treks of these students are unique, extraordinary, and even dangerous, and they signify the common determination, perseverance, and sense of adventure shared by young people around the world.

Read along as students from thirteen different nations embark on their journeys to get to school in the morning, and learn about the diverse landscapes and cultures of these countries along the way!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499806656
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Baptiste Paul grew up in St. Lucia, where he walked up mountain roads barefoot or wearing cracked rubber shoes that burned his feet. His steps eventually led him to earn degrees in environmental and political science from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He now lives in Wisconsin, and this is his second book for children. His debut, The Field, was published by NorthSouth books. Visit him online at baptistepaul.com.

Miranda Paul is the award-winning children's author of The Great Pasta Escape, One Plastic Bag, Water Is Water, Trainbots, and Blobfish Throws a Party. Her books range from serious nonfiction to humorous picture books and have garnered starred reviews or placement on state reading lists. During her early school days, she rode a big yellow bus about an hour each way. Her grown-up school adventures have included teaching jobs in Maryland, Pennsylvania, the Gambia, and Wisconsin. Discover how to invite her to your school at mirandapaul.com.

Isabel Muñoz was born and raised in a small town in Spain. As a child, she loved to draw and paint, and she went on to study fine arts and become an illustrator. Isabel loves to look at children's books and search the colorful illustrations to find the tiniest details. She's constantly looking for fresh ideas to draw, so you'll probably find her sketching something new while she's enjoying a cup of tea.

Editorial Reviews

04/23/2018
The husband-and-wife coauthors explore how children from 13 countries travel to school. The accounts, which are fictionalized but are based on the commutes of actual children, are told in vivid first-person narratives, which Muñoz conveys in gentle, earnest illustrations. A boy in Pakistan rides a rickshaw “so full that all of us can barely fit inside.” In Tokyo, a boy travels via subway, carrying a yellow flag so he can be spotted if he gets lost. Many of the journeys will be eye-opening to readers: in Bhuton, a girl walks three hours on foot to get to her school. Images made to resemble snapshots show each child in class and ready to learn, but readers will grasp the subtle message about how profoundly different a universal experience can be. Ages 4–8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2018
Gr 3–5—The focus of this nonfiction picture book is not on the kind of schools students attend, but rather how they make their way there each day. Readers are transported around the globe to experience a variety of modes of transportation and the challenges that can arise. The authors focus on the determination demonstrated by children seeking an education, which will inspire resilience and empathy in readers. Most of the continents are covered (save Australia and Antarctica), and a note at the beginning of the book states that these profiles are not wholly representative of any country or culture but are composites and fictionalized vignettes. Some of the episodes are more engaging than others (in Sichuan Province, China, students climb down a sheer rock-face using rope ladders and the illustration captures the precarious nature of this trip especially well). Sidebars provide additional factual information. VERDICT A useful addition to most school collections, especially to emphasize the value of an education to students.—John Scott, Friends School of Baltimore

School Library Journal

2018-05-14
U.S. readers who jump on a bus or walk a few blocks will marvel at what kids around the world will do to get an education.In Canada, the child narrator helps his sisters onto the toboggan and then climbs on the snowmobile behind Grandpa. The four cross the frozen lake to the closest school, in Minnesota. In Bolivia, a teleférico connects two of the highest cities in the world, and it's used daily by over 3,000 students. Other methods include a rickshaw (depicted here as a vehicle that looks like a cross between a jeep and an SUV) in Pakistan, a Japanese bullet train, and a motorbike (one adult and four children onboard!) in Cameroon. The Ethiopian and Ukrainian children face political and social dangers on their walks, and the rural Kenyan students must avoid Africa's Big Five. Each journey's description is allotted a double-page spread with a large illustration and the country's flag. The sidebars at the edges, though, are often a jumble of unrelated facts that, though positive and possibly surprising to U.S. readers, add little. Many of the tales beg for more detail, and readers will feel the lack of a map and glossary. Backmatter includes a select bibliography of 49 resources and an update of some dangerous journeys previously broadcast on the internet. An authors' note explains that the stories are composites and that they do not represent an entire country or even one specific season. This will pique readers' curiosity (and hopefully their gratitude at their privilege) but does not answer all the questions they will surely have. (Informational picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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