ALA Booklist (Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Using a similar format to that of their best-selling book, If the World Were a Village (2002), Smith and Armstrong return to take a look at the "village" of the U.S. The conceit is this: there are more than 306 million people living in the U.S., a number that's hard to visualize. So this new America is reinterpreted as a village of 100 people. Who are these people? Where do they come from, what do they believe, and what do they own? These questions are asked and answered in an oversize format that utilizes about one-third of the spread for text and the rest for warm acrylic paintings (though not as skilled as in the previous book) showing American families at work and play. The book is excellent for getting the facts out and for disabusing some common misconceptions. Take, for instance, the picture some have of a nuclear family. In fact, in this virtual village, 20 families have 2 parents, and 7 are single-parent families (with 29 children total); 10 households have just 1 person; and the remaining 14 people live in households of 2 or more unrelated people. There are some interesting comparisons with the rest of the world as well (e.g. we are only fortieth in world life expectancy). Children probably won't pick this up on their own, but educators will find myriad uses for this well-sourced book, which includes a spread of suggested activities and discussion questions. A whole new way to think about our country.

Horn Book

In this companion to If the World Were a Village, Smith represents the population of the United States as a village of one hundred people. The text illustrates statistics such as languages spoken, occupations, and age; it's a creative and accessible way to present the statistical information. The accompanying paintings are friendly and accomplished. Websites. Bib.

Kirkus Reviews

Smith and Armstrong follow up If the World Were a Village (2002) with a similarly eye-opening portrait of the United States as a "village" of 100 people (roughly one per 3,000,000). Paired to impressionistic street and crowd scenes viewed, generally, from a high angle, the simplified statistics encapsulate our ethnic origins, family structures, religions, energy use, occupations, health and wealth in easy-to-understand units: "82 people in our village speak English as their first language. 10 speak Spanish. 1 speaks Chinese, 1 French and 1 German." Using this methodology, the author tracks historical changes in many categories, shovels data into his narrative in different ways to stave off monotony, often lays out comparisons with other countries or the rest of the world and even offers occasional discussions of what the numbers signify or reveal. A solid source list lends authority to his rounded-off numbers. The premise isn't new, but it's never been used to better effect for deepening the understanding that children have about the 306 million (and counting) other people with whom they share this land. (Informational picture book. 8-10)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This timely follow-up to <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">If the World Were a Village offers a thought-provoking perspective on the people who make up America. Organized by overarching questions such as “Where do we come from?” and “What do we use?” the text illustrates the ethnic divisions, income levels and material consumption (among othercategories) of Americans—were America a theoretical village containing only 100 people. In a section on religion, bullet-points demonstrate the breakdown of religious persuasions within America—“82 consider themselves Christians... 2 are Buddhists... 1 is Jewish”—followed by a comparison with the “whole world” (if it were a village). Armstrong’s cheerful, smudgy paintings balance the text’s heaviness, and an afterword directed at adult readers provides suggestions for imparting the important but complex message to children. Ages 8–12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)

School Library Journal (Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 2-6 As in If the World Were a Village , Smith and Armstrong help children understand large statistical numbers by collapsing the U.S. population of 300 million down to a village of 100. For example, "82 people in our village speak English as their first language, 10 speak Spanish. 1 speaks Chinese, 1 French and 1 German." Other languages that represent less than one whole person are also mentioned. Topics explored include family make-up, religions, jobs, ages, wealth, items owned, energy and water use, and health. Comparisons are sometimes made with historical data to show change and with worldwide numbers for contrast. Lively, cheerful acrylic paintings depict the diversity of our country in a somewhat idealized manner that suits the all-inclusive tone of the book. While the concept is successful in making huge numbers more comprehensible, statistics are known to be slippery, and attempts to classify people by race and ethnic and cultural groups are not always straightforward. Does the term "Hispanic" identify a distinct group? Some say yes, others no; Smith identifies the village as having 75 white members, 12 black, 4 Asian, 1 Native American, and 8 who consider themselves "members of some other race or of mixed race," noting that he's including Hispanics with whites. While readers may or may not agree with Smith's interpretations of the figures, he lists extensive bibliographic resources and provides suggestions for ways to engage children in considering their country and its place in the larger world. At the very least, the book will provoke discussion; ideally, it will inspire deeper thought and consideration of "what distinguishes America from other countries and Americans from other people." Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA