Barefoot Books Children of the World Hardcover – Picture Book, October 1, 2016

I've used this book as a teacher with 3- to 5-year-old children, with my own toddlers and preschoolers, and in religious education classes... But I'm convinced that it is a wonderful way to start conversations with people of any age. The illustrations are gorgeous and include children and people from a range of abilities, races, countries, genders, families, occupations, religions... And there is an index at the end of the book to elaborate on many of the illustrations to give you the full context.

My two year old LOVES this book, and I love the conversation it generates. She especially loves the pictures of the children playing and getting dressed. She loved making up her own stories about what they're doing. I love that it normalizes all sorts of experiences so that I can have a conversation about, say, why someone is dressed differently than we are or using a wheelchair. Talking about those things when my daughter is in my lap in my living room and not when we're out in the world means that when she encounters diversity for the first time, there's no staring or awkward questions from her. It's such a powerful tool for building empathy, understanding, and acceptance. This book will build your child's emotional intelligence tremendously. My favorite part is that no matter who you are, your child will see someone who looks like him/her in this book--and realize how much we all have in common. A must have in today's culture!

The first picture of those eyes opening and the day beginning. The first question is, “Where are you?” meaning where in the world do you live? The text includes many questions so this is the kind of book children will be discussing with parents and teachers as it is read. Different kinds of home, food, play, hiding places, and families are so well illustrated. The child will be encouraged to think about all the things they are able to do. All sizes, shapes, and abilities are included in the inclusive illustrations.

This book is beautiful. Nice hard cover, wonderful illustrations. There’s a section in the back that breaks down all of the places and activities shown in the book so you can teach your child about new cultures and places and people. Includes food, activities, homes, religions, jobs, languages, etc. I love this book. Very inclusive and well done. I love this book.

This book is WONDERFUL! It is written in such a way to engage children with questions and thoughts that challenge their understanding of their world and the worlds of others. It is a beautiful and inclusive look at the similarities that hide in the differences. I am so glad a book like this exists in the world to help educate and open the eyes of our children to the big world around us and all who live in it!

We saw this book at a museum gift shop, and honesty, *I* fell in love with it. It shows so much about different children's lives; where they live, their families, what they eat, how they play, what they celebrate, what they feel, languages they speak.This book is SO wonderful, and it's my son's absolute favorite. It's quite long, which makes it more fun; we only read parts of it each time, and are often discovering a new page.He's just turned 2yo and we ended up buying several copies to gift to his classmates, as we threw a little birthday party for him at school. We read the book to all the toddlers and they loved it!

I bought this book after seeing a recommendation on a day care forum, and it's AMAZING. My favorite book purchase for my day care. It's large, with bold and detailed illustrations and simple text--the kind of book that older toddlers and younger preschoolers love to pore over. It doesn't call attention to the diversity of the kids and families and cultures; it just presents them all gracefully. For instance, the first page shows 21 pairs of eyes--all different skin and hair and eyebrows, freckles, birthmark, etc. When you look closely, you realize one pair of eyes is clouded--one child is blind. Further in the book, you'll notice that a child has an insulin pump and another child has a cool prosthetic leg just peeping out from under her shorts.It's the kind of book that some people might write off as "Super PC." But I sat down with an asthmatic multiracial foster kid to read it, and she was excited to find kids and families like hers--I'm so glad this book exists.

Amazing book with a wonderful way to just introduce kids to other cultures and differences we may have. Beautiful illustrations and language. Every family should have one of these!