Our World is a read-aloud introduction to geography that inspires young readers to explore our planet far and wide. Thanks to the author, you can take a look at her newest book, and read her guest post about BIG books!
Our World: A First Book of Geography by Sue Lowell Gallion
Our World: A First Book of Geography
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Grade Level: Preschool – Kindergarten
Hardcover: 26 pages
Publisher: Phaidon Press (July 22, 2020)
There has never been a better time for children to learn more about the planet they share. And from rivers, lakes, and oceans deep, to valleys, hills, and mountains steep,
This unique board book with its rhyming verse and lush illustrations opens up to create a free-standing globe with a magnetic closure. Secondary text offers curriculum-focused facts that encourage readers to consider their own environments, ensuring their experience is both personal and global.
Get Lost in a Big Book
By Sue Lowell Gallion
There’s nothing like getting lost in a book. Especially a BIG book. What kid isn’t a fan of Richard Scarry’s classic Busytown books? (Parents, particularly at bedtime, may rightly see these book choices partially as stalling techniques.) But there’s something about a large format that lets you settle into reading time and escape into another world. We all need that right now, don’t we?
A larger than average book format signals that there’s lots to notice on every page. I love to talk about “noticing” with kids. It’s curiosity in action, and a trait worth encouraging and complimenting. Noticing is important outdoors. A child’s observation may be macro or micro, or ideally both! Noticing is important indoors, too, whether you’re visiting a museum or someone else’s home. It’s important with other people, as kids learn to understand and empathize with others. And it’s important in reading and looking at books, for kids and people of all ages.
Our World Is A Big Book!
If a book is BIG, the illustrations tend to be special. Often there are many layers or tiny stories to notice within each two-page spread or within the whole book. During the production process of OUR WORLD, A First Book of Geography, I was elated to find out that the book was not only going to be a unique shape – a globe – but it was going to be big! The format of this book is even more unusual, because the front and back covers connect (via magnetic strips embedded within the cardboard) to make a standalone globe. It’s just one more thing to notice.
I hope the words, illustrations, shape, and feel of OUR WORLD make this a book for kids and adults to linger over together. Our goal is to invite children into this book and encourage them to explore and wonder about the natural world. The youngest child can learn that our world is mostly covered with water, and that other places on the planet aren’t always like the world outside your family’s door. Lisk Feng’s illustrations also feature animals in their natural habitats, something kids always enjoy noticing.
Here are some other new big books to look for and share with kids:
THE BIG BOOK OF THE BLUE, THE BIG BOOK OF BLOOMS, THE BIG BOOK OF BIRDS, and others in Yuval Zommer’s Big Book series. These nonfiction explorations into different facets of nature are illustrated by Zommer’s stunning watercolors. The target audience is 6 to 8 but older and younger kids will be absorbed by these as well.
ALL AROUND BUSTLETOWN (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) by Rotraut Susanne Berner. These four oversized board books, originally published in Germany, are in the tradition of Richard Scarry and Where’s Waldo. The same characters appear in all four books, with many visual storylines. These books are for preschool to kindergarten, but will appeal to all ages.
IT’S A GREAT BIG COLORFUL WORLD by Tom Schamp, first published in the Netherlands, begingi with a grey day and turns into a world tour of color and design. This volume is one to return to again and again.
ANIMALS IN THE SKY by Sara Gillingham. This board book introduces children to the six most recognizable constellations in an interactive guessing game. Spectacular illustrations and clever design encourages observations of the night sky throughout the year (and another way to delay bedtime!)
I hope you enjoy finding some of these titles at your local library or a bookstore near you.
About Sue Lowell Gallion
Sue Lowell Gallion was destined to write books. As the daughter of a third-generation printer, Gallion grew up immersed in the smells of paper and ink and the sound of the printing presses at Lowell Press in Kansas City. As a young girl, she and her sister raided the plant’s gumball machine, squirreled away paper scraps to make paper dolls, and played with type and stamp pads. When they were older, they took their place in the family business, stuffing envelopes, boxing books, and proofreading endless pages of cattle pedigrees — with breaks for gumballs, of course.
Today, Gallion is the author of eight children’s books including two series: the Pig & Pug picture books and the Tucker and Tip early readers. Gallion’s work has also appeared in various children’s magazines such as Highlights and High Five.
Passionate about books and the importance of reading, Gallion’s also a frequent presenter speaking to librarians, parents and early childhood educators about literacy. She also shares her love of books with children at libraries and elementary schools — in person or via Skype. And once a week, Gallion volunteers as a reading mentor for children with low literacy skills as part of Lead to Read Kansas City.
When she’s not writing, Gallion likes to spend time with her two grandsons and her black lab mix, Tucker, who likes to hold hands.
Gallion still lives in the Kansas City area and is represented by Liza Voges of Eden Street Literary. To learn more about her, go to www.suegallion.com.
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