The striking cover photograph of decorated Samburo people from Kenya will attract armchair travelers of all ages to this worldwide tour of houses. The rhythmic text reveals basic information about building structure, function, materials, and techniques through a series of simple contrasts: The world is full of . . . big houses / little houses / white houses / bright houses. . . . The index consists of minireproductions of the fine color photographs that appear throughout the text, along with the location of each structure and a few interesting facts; for instance, one picture shows houses in Thailand built on stilts to avoid high tide. An appended map points out the 19 countries around the globe where the pictures were snapped. This successful companion to the duo's Bread, Bread, Bread , Hats, Hats, Hats , Loving , and On the Go ends on a warm note with a simple recipe for turning any house into a home: Fill it with love. (Reviewed Oct. 1, 1992)

A colorful photo-essay with few words shows a variety of houses--from Buckingham Palace to a straw house, from New York City to Papua New Guinea. Housing materials and available resources in each area are explained. An index repeats each photograph and pairs it with detailed information. A map is included. Great for browsing.

K-Gr 3-- A striking photographic survey of housing around the world that will be a real eyeopener for many children. The lush, full-color photos, one to two per page, tell the real story, conveying nearly as much about those who live in these ?- homes as they do about the dwellings themselves. Text is spare, delineating categories to unify the photo groupings (``Build your house with . . . wood or stone or straw or mud or anything at all. Weave it nail it tie it with rope.'') rather than describing the houses. That's done in the index, which is comprised of a miniature of each photo, an identification of the country in which it was taken, and a brief description. A black-and-white map is appended with each location clearly labeled. This is a solid addition for collections that support social studies or multicultural units, but would be equally fascinating to browsers throughout the age group. --Denise L. Moll, Lone Pine Elementary School, West Bloomfield, MI