One Moment in Time: Children around the world

by Ben Lerwill, Alette Straathof (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s 7 o’clock in the morning in Mexico, and Javier is eating his breakfast. He’s having corn tortillas with beans and a glass of orange juice.

And at exactly the same time…

…it’s 8 o’clock in the morning in New York City. Kayla is getting her schoolbag ready. A yellow school bus will take her to the school gates.

One Moment in Time is a lyrical celebration of diversity with a heartfelt message of unity. Featuring eleven different children, this book takes readers on a colourful, eye-opening journey around the globe in a single day, showing what children in different countries are each doing at the same point in time. 

From travel writer Ben Lerwill, and with beautiful illustrations from Alette Straathof this non-fiction picture book introduces children to different cultures around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711263536
Publisher:	Happy Yak
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.55(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.45(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ben Lerwill is an award-winning travel writer and children's author based in Oxfordshire, England. Ben's writing has appeared in more than 50 national and international titles, including National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust, Time Out, BBC Travel, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Independent, BBC Countryfile, and Rough Guides. His non-fiction children's books include One World Many Colours, WildLives, and Wild Cities. Alette Straathof is an illustrator who lives and works in Paris, France. She graduated in January 2016 at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Alette tries to hide small details in every one of her illustrations for people to discover – see if you can find them all. 

Editorial Reviews

“Vibrant illustrations teem with playful details and portray the contemporary world.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-06-29
Children from around the world enjoy their everyday activities as the narration explains that these daily events happen simultaneously.

Javier eats his corn tortillas and beans at 7 a.m. in Mexico, while Kayla prepares for school at 8 a.m. in New York City, and Lucas sits in a colorful wheelchair in a racially diverse Brazilian classroom at 9 a.m. The subject is math, and the text makes the point: “The time zones might change as you travel around the world, but the times tables don’t!” Before every page turn, the refrain reads: “And at exactly the same time…” and in the next scene a new child in a different country takes center stage. At noon, Esther eats her outdoor school lunch in Ghana; James gets his guitar lesson in Scotland at 1 p.m.; Yusuf checks a book out from a library in Turkey at 3 p.m. Other places visited include Dubai, Thailand, and Australia. Each double-page spread invites readers to look closely at the places, objects, and people pictured. The text engages kids in considering questions like “Do you have a special place where you like reading?” Vibrant illustrations teem with playful details and portray the contemporary world. The unlabeled world map on the last spread includes small pictures of each child, but it does not delineate the time zones. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Ably illustrating the concept of time zones, this will start conversations about geography. (author's note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews