Gr 6 Up-This thrilling collection of travel adventures from this celebrated husband-and-wife, author-illustrator team will appeal to a variety of readers, from aspiring biologists and globe-trotters to those who prefer traipsing the face of the planet from a comfortable chair. Featuring short, conversational pieces, and spectacular photos and vibrant artwork laid out like a journal, this enticing title describes the duo's experiences all over the world. This is a deceptively slim volume, brimming with details of fascinating creatures, locales, and people. The narrative is quite gripping in places, such as in a scene depicting the authors' attempt to outrun a charging lion that was chasing their truck. The book also paints quietly compelling portraits of individuals, such as an old leper woman in Botswana, squatting in the corner of a roofless home of twisted sticks. There is humor, too: in one chapter, an Irish farmer watches the Lewins struggle to pull a wagon out of mud, a task that would have been more easily performed by a horse. The couple's joie de vivre is infectious, and the intimate, familiar tone running through this work underscores the idea that while this planet hosts an incredible variety of humans, animals, and destinations, it's a small world after all. VERDICT A captivating tribute to this glorious orb we call home.— Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

This travelogue of exciting adventures from around the globe has been more than 40 years in the making. Veteran husband-and-wife author-illustrator team Ted Lewin and Betsy Lewin have traveled the world side by side, pursuing adventure while practicing their craft. Avoiding leisure resorts and tourist traps, they traveled to some of the most remote places on the globe, and narrative accounts of their travels are collected here. Plenty of close encounters with wildlife are detailed, but their most compelling stories are the human ones, such as their time spent visiting lepers in Botswana, talking to merchants in the spice markets of Morocco, and participating in a shaman ritual in a yurt in Mongolia. Ted and Betsy's artwork, from quick pencil sketches to fully realized, finished illustrations of their travels, fills each page, along with photos and other ephemera, such as passport stamps and plane tickets. With adventures aplenty across six continents and over four decades, this eye-opening account of the Lewins' unique experiences will likely mesmerize kids who dream of seeing the world.