Fifty real children, one from each state, describe their families, daily lives, interests, and hopes.Using an intensive selection process involving census records and questionnaires, Lamothe, the author of the similarly themed This Is How We Do It (2017), and writer and designer Volvovski profile 50 children, ages 5 to 11-not as supposed representatives of the states they happen to live in, but of children everywhere in this country. The entries feature half-page summaries of video-chat interviews and painted images of the young people with their homes and families. Seven-year-old Ramon has to keep his Hot Wheels collection in bins in the hallway, since he shares a bedroom in Rhode Island with his mom and sister; 11-year-old Betsy (Alabama) gets in trouble for reading while driving her motorized wheelchair; and while her dads in Wyoming prepare dinner, 6-year-old Charlie talks about her dance classes and how she wants to be an astronaut veterinarian when she grows up. What emerges is a rich, thought-provoking work that proves that despite our differences, there's much that we share. Though acknowledging that multiracial children are overrepresented here (but with some justice, as it reflects a documented trend), the authors finish off with bar graphs showing that overall they are presenting a reasonably accurate demographic picture of young America in all its diversity…while convincingly suggesting that, as they put it, "we have more in common than we may think."Methodical, inspiring, and consistently enlightening. (sources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

K-Gr 4 —A grandiose and ambitious project, this book dives into an unflinchingly honest look at children's lives throughout the United States. Based on years of interviews, these vignettes present one kid per state. Each page features a brief description of a child's day alongside a lush illustration of their home, starting from the eastern coast and moving westward. Readers see traditions or hobbies, collections or chores. Some lives are familiar, others not so much. But all show family structures bursting with love. In the back matter, real photos of the kids and their homes drive each anecdote home. There are also fascinating demographic charts comparing the book families with countrywide statistics. These include breakdowns of groupings tracked by the Census and by Pew Research Center, like race and religion. This is the type of comprehensive book that can be useful for family reads, school projects, and everything in between. It's impossible to read this and come away with anything but connection and love for other people. VERDICT A richly compassionate look at people's lives, this book covers childhood in a way that readers will appreciate and love. It's a gripping read for elementary grades and beyond.—Cat McCarrey

Fifty real children, one from each state, describe their families, daily lives, interests, and hopes.Using an intensive selection process involving census records and questionnaires, Lamothe, the author of the similarly themed This Is How We Do It (2017), and writer and designer Volvovski profile 50 children, ages 5 to 11-not as supposed representatives of the states they happen to live in, but of children everywhere in this country. The entries feature half-page summaries of video-chat interviews and painted images of the young people with their homes and families. Seven-year-old Ramon has to keep his Hot Wheels collection in bins in the hallway, since he shares a bedroom in Rhode Island with his mom and sister; 11-year-old Betsy (Alabama) gets in trouble for reading while driving her motorized wheelchair; and while her dads in Wyoming prepare dinner, 6-year-old Charlie talks about her dance classes and how she wants to be an astronaut veterinarian when she grows up. What emerges is a rich, thought-provoking work that proves that despite our differences, there's much that we share. Though acknowledging that multiracial children are overrepresented here (but with some justice, as it reflects a documented trend), the authors finish off with bar graphs showing that overall they are presenting a reasonably accurate demographic picture of young America in all its diversity…while convincingly suggesting that, as they put it, "we have more in common than we may think."Methodical, inspiring, and consistently enlightening. (sources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)