David J. Smith, illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong,
If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People
Kids Can Press, 2007.

Ages 9-12

If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People is a superb resource for enabling young readers (not to mention older readers of all ages) to get a hold on what life is like for people all over the planet by reducing the world population to a single village of 100. There is plenty going on in Shelagh Armstrong’s bright, boldly delineated illustrations to capture their imaginations too. The information has been updated for this current 2007 edition (it was first published in 2002) and there is no doubt that the book’s impact is as thought-provoking as ever. Be prepared for the questions it arouses like, “What can we do about this?”

The book starts with a welcome to the global village and finishes with the question “What will our village be like in the future?”.  In between, it provides a picture of life throughout the world by the ratios of figures for such areas as Religions, Schooling and Literacy, and Money and Possessions.  Readers will perhaps be brought up short by the thought that even things that they have never had to consider, like Air and Water, or Electricity, cannot be taken for granted.  The matter-of-fact tone allows the figures to speak for themselves. They tell of a world of diversity, with much to be shared and celebrated; and the inclusive tone of Smith’s commentary is empowering: which is just as well, when you come across such statements as “There is no shortage of food …if all the food were divided equally …But the food isn’t divided equally”. The challenge, then, is for the young people who read this book to be given the opportunity to go out and change the world.  Smith’s two pages devoted to “Teaching children about the global village” is empowering for adults seeking to foster this global awareness too.

If the World Were a Village doesn’t have to be swallowed whole, but can be dipped into, to broaden the horizons on many topics pertinent to everyday life. It is a fantastic tool for helping young people realise, both independently and in groups, that there’s a world out there: and it’s ready and waiting for them to participate fully in its future,  to go out there and make a difference.

Marjorie Coughlan
February 2009