If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Village

If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Village starts out really interesting, using a simple number to explain the world’s demographics in terms of eye and hair color. There is also a really good map for reference.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to be written for children, at least not very respectfully. The book tries to place the burden of big problems––like starvation, safety, and access to education––on children. What’s worse is that the book doesn’t really offer any solutions, just kind of outlines a bunch of problems that even adults don’t seem to be able to fix, like as if it’s the reader’s fault. It’s not uplifting or inspiring in any way.

As my parents feel there’s a pretty blatant social agenda, this is a read once and then straight into the recycle bin book. If the author were to write another, I’d hope the whole thing could be math-oriented like it starts out or at least point out the goodness of different cultures and ways of life because learning to appreciate each other means there’s hope for the future.