If the World Were a Village

If the World Were a Village-A Book About the World's People is a great advanced picture book by David J. Smith with illustrations by Shelagh Armstrong. This book takes a look at our global community and breaks it down so it is easier to understand. Smith breaks the world down into one village consisting of 100 villagers. He then explores what nationalities are represented, what languages are spoken, what ages are here, and what religions, if any, are practiced Next, he explains how food, air, water, schooling, money, and electricity are unfairly distributed. He explains that if we shared all the food equally, then there would be enough for everyone. But, we don't share the food equally or the money or the housing, or the schooling and therefore, some people in the village do not have enough to eat or do not have a school to go to.


I believe this book is extremely important for children to read because learning about our world and the problems in it needs to start at a young age. Kids need to be aware of poverty. Smith says that this book is about "world-mindedness" which is an attitude, an approach to life. By allowing the whole world to be condensed into a village of 100 people, children will understand that everyone in the village is a neighbor, a friend and therefore we need to treat the people of our world with the same respect. Hopefully, it will inspire children to help out, make a difference in the world.


This book would also be a great way to talk about geography including different languages, capitals, countries' borders and so on. The illustrations are very effective as well. It uses a cartoon like picture to represent the different areas that are being covered.