What goes on around the world in every tick of the clock?In this graphically stylish exploration of what might happen in a second, Gibert goes for hard numbers rather than the dreamy imaginings of horizon expanders such as Kathleen Rice Bowers' At This Very Minute, illustrated by Linda Shute (1983), or Isabel Minhós Martins' The World in a Second, illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho and translated by Lyn Miller-Lachman (2015). The author pores over nearly three dozen recently published official statistical reports (all listed in the backmatter) and does some math. He offers a few small figures for each elapsed second (one wedding, two serious car accidents, four new babies) but many more big ones: 100 lightning bolts; 3,000,000 email messages; 47,000 gallons of oil extracted; and 1,050,000 gallons of cow gas emitted "from both ends." Most telling are the juxtapositions: $860 invested in humanitarian aid opposite $57,700 in arms sales; 20,000 plastic bottles produced versus 1,600 recycled; 485 trees cut down but just 158 replanted. Where relevant, each number is presented in both English and metric measures (the latter parenthetically), and each is paired to a full-page or larger illustration done in a serigraphic style, mostly featuring relevant shapes or silhouettes. Human images are rare but diverse.A long, long way from comprehensive-but still fodder for serious thought and discussion. (Informational picture book. 8-10)

Gr 1-5 What happens in one second? More than one would think. Though a substantial 56 pages, the book consists primarily of two sentences. The narrative begins, "Every second, around the world 1 wedding is celebrated" and continues until the summation sentence. Intriguing statistics about our world are interspersed throughout. The facts initially seem random, but they follow a loose pattern. For example, following a series of facts related to human dietary habits, readers learn the volume of human excrement and household waste produced each second (20,300 and 23,300 pounds, respectively) and the relatively paltry amount of recycling and replanting that humans do. The cartoon-style illustrations are in color but use muted tones. Gibert depicts people in a variety of shades including blue; and as illustrative statistics, they are representative rather than emotive. On one page, sand swirls in the sky above an expansive desert dwarfing the blue silhouette of a person on camelback. The text reads, "11,500 pounds of sand, carried by the wind, leave the Sahara Desert." No artwork details are included, but the colors appear porous, evoking newsprint, sponge, or screen printing. VERDICT This book will amuse and enlighten young or casual readers; more thoughtful readers will appreciate its global perspective and many ideas to ponder. Lisa Taylor, Florida State College, Jacksonville