Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Published first in French in 2011, Perrin's elegant construction looks at children and young people around the globe eastward from the Greenwich meridian. At 6 a.m. in Dakar, Senegal, Keita is helping his father with his catch of fish. "At the same moment," goes the refrain, it is 7 a.m. in Paris, and Benedict is drinking his hot chocolate before school. The moment unfolds with Yasmine in Baghdad, Lilu in the Himalyas, Chen in Shanghai, Allen and Kiana in Honolulu, and so on. The children range in age from newborn, like Diego in Lima, Peru, who is born there at 1 a.m., to teenagers, like Sharon and Peter kissing goodbye in San Francisco at 10 p.m. The pictures, in pencil and digital color, fill the tall oblong shape of the book dramatically. Details are telling: A little red-beaked bird appears on most of the pages; the Frenchman striding along with his briefcase is smoking a cigarette; in Dubai, Nadia is watching yet another huge building go up; Pablo's dreams in Mexico City take shape with Aztec symbols. A lovely foldout world map places and names all these children. A brief but excellent description of time zones and timekeeping closes the volume. Who knew that India and China both have only one time zone across their huge expanses? A very fine working of story, information, art and culture. (Picture book. 5-9)

ALA Booklist

Beginning with Keita helping his father count fish in Senegal (at Greenwich mean time) and then moving eastward around the globe, this French import introduces readers to children living in each of the original 24 time zones. Readers meet, for example, Sofia, chasing after the school bus in Bulgaria; Ivan, taking his dog for a walk in Russia; baby Diego, newly born in Peru; and Chloe, dancing on the deck of a mid-Atlantic cruise ship. Perrin's rich digital artwork is very effective; particularly appealing is her use of lit interiors to highlight nighttime activities. Each narrow vertical spread features two time zones, and alert readers will note that the first and last spreads are the same, bringing the book (and the day) full circle. Appended with an author's note about time zones and a fold-out map locating each child's home, this will find a niche in several curricular areas.

Horn Book

In this French import, Perrin circles the globe to glimpse simultaneous events in twenty-four time zones. From construction in Dubai to cooking in Samoa, a Shanghai festival to a Russian snowstorm, the brief text and handsome art celebrate Earth's rich variety. Using soft pencil lines for texture as well as definition and adding glowing saturated colors digitally, Perrin creates a lush, inviting world.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Published first in French in 2011, Perrin's elegant construction looks at children and young people around the globe eastward from the Greenwich meridian. At 6 a.m. in Dakar, Senegal, Keita is helping his father with his catch of fish. "At the same moment," goes the refrain, it is 7 a.m. in Paris, and Benedict is drinking his hot chocolate before school. The moment unfolds with Yasmine in Baghdad, Lilu in the Himalyas, Chen in Shanghai, Allen and Kiana in Honolulu, and so on. The children range in age from newborn, like Diego in Lima, Peru, who is born there at 1 a.m., to teenagers, like Sharon and Peter kissing goodbye in San Francisco at 10 p.m. The pictures, in pencil and digital color, fill the tall oblong shape of the book dramatically. Details are telling: A little red-beaked bird appears on most of the pages; the Frenchman striding along with his briefcase is smoking a cigarette; in Dubai, Nadia is watching yet another huge building go up; Pablo's dreams in Mexico City take shape with Aztec symbols. A lovely foldout world map places and names all these children. A brief but excellent description of time zones and timekeeping closes the volume. Who knew that India and China both have only one time zone across their huge expanses? A very fine working of story, information, art and culture. (Picture book. 5-9)

School Library Journal (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

K-Gr 3 At six o'clock in the morning in Dakar, Senegal, Keita helps his father count the fish caught during night. So begins a tale of events happening at the same moment all around the world. From the Greenwich meridian eastward, full circle back to Senegal, Perrin takes readers on a voyage of events in 24 time zones where children are conducting their everyday activities. Mitko, in Bulgaria, chases after the school bus; Chen, in Shanghai, practices for the Lunar New Year parade at 2:00; and Pablo, in Mexico City, is having magical dreams at midnight. Each hour presents a unique cultural experience of normalcy in the lives of children and their families. Stunning, digitally enhanced ink illustrations depict the variety of landscapes, architecture, clothing, and customs of a diverse world, yet all portray what is recognizably the same in all children's lives. A large, pull-out world map reveals each time zone and the children shown in the story. A lovely addition to a study of time zones or an exploration of cultural diversity Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH