The small format of this book doesn't allow children to pore over these images from schools around the world. The children, from such countries as the Dominican Republic, Iraq, and South Africa (shown in integrated schools), are portrayed in all kinds of learning situations. The large font text pulls the photos together in themes but competes with the small captions noting specific activities and the location of each setting.

Across the globe, schools and the children that attend them are similar and different in so many ways.Organized by simple statements regarding what, where, and how children study, the book offers photos featuring a wide range of children, from Indigenous children in Brazil to children of multiple races in the United States. Although the pictures and their clear, informative captions are grouped according to commonalities, they also accurately represent how class, culture, and faith influence everything from school uniforms to what it means to be a good citizen. The final pages contain longer, more detailed text that caregivers can use to supplement the facts that are already presented in the book. The book's illustrations are carefully curated to represent a wide range of regions, faiths, and skin colors, all within an age range that seems to be middle elementary. Laudably, the children pictured in the photos span economic strata as well as geography: The book shows children of different class levels studying in the global south as well as more developed countries. It is refreshing to see images of students studying in a night school in India and a UNESCO-funded school in Rwanada juxtaposed with photographs of what appear to be private school students in India and South Africa. This edition updates a 2001 volume of the same name with a preponderance of new photos, a colorful design, lightly massaged text, and an expanded trim size.This simple, informative photo essay realistically portrays children's experiences of schooling around the world. (Informational picture book. 3-8)

PreS-Gr 3 Clear, colorful photographs capture the day-to-day life of schoolchildren around the globe. The book has a minimal text and one or two captioned photos per page. Various types of schools and classrooms are pictured including a group of students studying outdoors in Mali and a homeschooling situation in France. How children get to class is described and illustrated with examples ranging from a horse-drawn wagon in Bolivia and a boat in Peru to a school bus in the U.S. What children wear and what they do once they get there are also explored. A great back-to-school title for teachers to share with their students. Christina F. Renaud, Millis Public Schools, MA