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One World, One Day

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One World, One Day uses exquisite, moving photographs and Barbara Kerley’s poetic text to convey a simple yet profound concept: we are one global family. This is a sophisticated concept book, presented as an elegant picture book with contributions from top international photographers.

This beautiful photo book follows the course of one day in our world. Sunrise to sunset is captured in the essential things we all do daily, wherever we live in the world, and in the different ways we do them. The first meal of the day will take on a whole new dimension for American kids as an American pancake breakfast is contrasted with porridge in North Korea and churros in Spain.

At the end, each image is reprinted as a thumbnail and accompanied by a detailed caption. Selected images feature photographers’ notes that share the thoughts and methodology involved in the making of the picture and reveal fascinating behind-the-scenes information. The photographers reflect on how the pictures might resonate within the theme of the global family. Such reflections are rooted in the life experiences of these well-traveled professionals. Their global viewpoints, in tandem with Barbara Kerley’s powerful message, set an ideal example for all future world citizens.

48 pages, Library Binding

First published May 12, 2009

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About the author

Barbara Kerley

26 books97 followers
Barbara Kerley was born in Washington, D.C. and has lived in many places, including Nepal and the tropical island of Guam. She has written about almost everything: 19th C iguanodons, Teddy Roosevelt, world peace, Mark Twain's donkey, and the pleasure of following your curiosity.

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5 stars
227 (43%)
4 stars
184 (35%)
3 stars
87 (16%)
2 stars
12 (2%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
Profile Image for Manybooks.
3,818 reviews101 followers
April 18, 2018
I absolutely adore and appreciate the wonderful photographs. They are both realistic and evocative, telling the stories of the many joys, but also some of the struggles of children's days and daily routines far better and much more descriptively than Barbara Kerley's text (which I consider rather spare and barely adequate, as it really does not describe the exquisite photographs in even remotely enough narrational detail, as I for one absolutely want and even need more in-text information).

However, what makes One World, One Day truly an amazing teaching and learning tool (and thus raising its ranking from a high two star to a solid three star offering for me) are the informative back materials, the detailed supplemental information about each of the photographs used, as well as the world map, showing the geographic locations of the photographs. And I also do very much appreciate Barbara Kerley's personal afterword, as it so evocatively describes that while her life in a Nepalese village might have been in some ways quite different from her life in America, it was, in fact, not all that different, that the world, that the world's children have far commonalities with one another than differences (and it is indeed very much important to remember this, as focussing on similarities instead of differences leads to increased tolerance and understanding, and it is most definitely both cheering and heartening that the author reminds children, reminds everyone, of this essential fact of life). Recommended for children interested in world geography and world culture, One World, One Day would be a great in-class learning and teaching tome in an elementary or middle school social studies class (and I could also well imagine One World, One Day being an informative and discussion-promoting educational tool for parents who homeschool, although if I were using One World, One Day in the classroom or for homeschooling, I would most definitely bring in supplemental information, extra books and the like to make up for the fact that the main narrative is a trifle lacking in information and details).
Profile Image for Lisa Vegan.
2,913 reviews1,316 followers
September 3, 2010
This is a fabulous book. As I was reading along, I was thinking that this was a good and simple book for young children, a great way to introduce the concept that there are different cultures, that children live differently in different places, but also share many similarities. But it seemed to be a 4 or even 3 star book. Then, I got to the notes, one for every photograph, in the back of the book, and these notes made this book so appropriate for older kids (and younger kids with questions!) and of interest to adult family members too. There is also a map of the world (maps in books being one of my favorite things!) in the back that shows the locations with page numbers for every photo. It’s then easy to see the locations of the children covered, and it’s definitely not an even distribution, but still an interesting one. I love the boy from Guinea-Bissau, Africa who asks the author whether America has a moon, thinking of America as being in a whole other world. In the book proper, the children are covered from waking, breakfast, school (one has quite an adventure to get there!), lunch, chores & play, dinner, family and rest time, sleep. The way the book is structured makes it appealing for all age groups. It’s not a perfect book, but I ended up being wowed.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
4,784 reviews
August 17, 2011
This is a wonderful, wonderful book for sharing cultures with young children through real-world photography instead of imagined illustrations. Though the pictures practically speak for themselves, Kerley's sparse text is effective in providing some context and narrative flow. Young children will easily identify with the various activities children everywhere experience from waking up in the morning, brushing teeth and eating breakfast (whether it be pancakes, churros or "hot sweet tea with plenty of milk") to school work, playtime, dinner time, family time and bedtime. I love that the spirit of the book is one of hope and joy, showing that we are all united and that children find happiness and blossom everywhere.

Of course, one can also look deeper and use this as a springboard to show that not all children can come home from school with only homework and play on their minds, some have to work or must live in refugee camps, for example. You find these details in the back matter that gives the credit lines for the photographs and some of the photographer notes. Some of these were just amazing stories in themselves, such as the boy from Guinea-Bissau who was obsessed with the photographer's soap and used it to lather up in the local watering hole, taking great joy in the experience and asking the photographer all manner of questions, including if they have a moon in America. Wow! The photographer says of her experience, "It seemed so symbolic and touching that he should feel like America was a separate world, and reminded me that we are all tied together in an intricate web on this planet, whether we believe it or not." This book helps you believe it.

A world map in the back helps place the photographs in their respective countries, making this a great teaching tool for geography, as well.

Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Dolly.
Author 1 book671 followers
August 11, 2017
This is a fascinating book that shows that all around the world, people do many of the same things. Life is different, but the daily routines are very similar.

The photographs are excellent and the short, but engaging narrative really conveys the sameness. I also really liked the author's note at the end and the additional information about the various locations photographed.

This book was featured as one of the selections for the August 2011 Maps and Geography themed books for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books group here at Goodreads. We enjoyed reading this book together and I'm glad this was one of the selected books.
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,986 reviews265 followers
November 17, 2019
Pairing a simple, straightforward narrative by Barbara Kerley - author of a number of non-fiction titles for younger readers, including such picture-book biographies as The Extraordinary Mark Twain and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins - and beautiful photography from a variety of sources, One World, One Day explores a day in the life of children from all over the globe. From their diverse breakfasts - porridge, pancakes, churros, toast - through their various means of attending school, the book highlights the fact that, though the specifics may vary, we all share some common experiences.

I really enjoyed everything about this National Geographic picture-book, from the gorgeous photographs to the detailed notes about each image, at the rear of the book. Given the simplicity of the main text, it's a title that I can see using with younger children, although the extensive after-material will also provide older readers with much to ponder. One of a number of books that promote both the idea of diversity, and the ideal of community, on a global scale - I'm thinking also of titles such as My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World , or Children Just Like Me - One World, One Day is highly recommended to young readers interested in the experiences of children around the world. Children with different circumstances, but similar feelings and experiences.
Profile Image for Karol.
772 reviews35 followers
August 27, 2011
Absolutely loved this book - for some reason, it brought tears to my eyes! So many layers to this book - a simple story about the commonalities of children experiencing a typical day. Getting up, going to school, handling chores/homework, playing and family time, going to bed. Yet the photographs also show the stark differences in surroundings, ethnicity, and level of wealth. I read all of the photo credits and enjoyed the stories behind the pictures. I also loved the map at the end, which showed what part of the world each photograph came from. One could spend many quality hours with a child pouring over this book!
Profile Image for Amanda Schwind.
872 reviews9 followers
September 16, 2014
I positively adored this book! The vivid photographs and simple storyline allow for this book to open up a world of discussions of varying cultures, backgrounds, and daily habits. I would love to read this to my future ESL classrooms.
Profile Image for Nicole.
11 reviews
October 1, 2015
National Geographic does it again--their non-fiction picture book captures the multicultural aspects that make up the world we live in, this time showcasing the lives of children throughout one single day. They compare different meals across cultures, as well as hobbies and methods of transport, while still showing children around the globe all experience the same routines each day. The theme of cultural differences and similarities is evident on each page and through each picture.
One World, One Day is filled with photographs, capturing glimpses into the lives of the various cultures around the world. They capture the feeling of the ongoing events, creating a fun, vibrant visual to accompany the text. It is eye-opening to see how similar our cultures can be.
Recommended for grades K-3, I think this book could be used at any grade as a way to understand others around us. It is simple, but powerful, challenging the reader to see past the differences we perceive between cultures and to look at to what we share. This picture book would be ideal for a geography lesson, or a prompt for writing where you could compare what your students' days are compared to what the children in the book experience.
Profile Image for babyhippoface.
2,443 reviews144 followers
July 1, 2009
From sunrise to sunset, a typical day in the life of children around the globe is depicted through eye-catching photographs from talented artists at National Geographic. Many different people groups are shown dining, playing, studying, and working, helping readers see that while the details of their lives may vary, children everywhere are part of a global community. An appendix lists the location of every photo and accompanying photographer’s notes where available, some sharing anecdotes about when and where the photograph was taken.
9 reviews1 follower
August 2, 2012
This is a beautiful book that highlights the common experiences that people around the world experience (e.g. eating breakfast, going to school, etc). Within these common experiences, however, there are differences. For example, people in South Korea might eat porridge for breakfast, whereas people in American might eat pancakes for breakfast and people in Spain might eat churros for breakfast. This book approaches diversity from a different perspective-that fundamentally, we are all very similar, but we are all unique in that we also differ from others.
Profile Image for Ramarie.
566 reviews
September 4, 2009
This book was on the new perusal cart, and it caught my eye. The short phrases on each page accompanied by beautiful photographs of people and children around the globe emphasize our global unity. Each of the photos is a little story in itself and the author helps tell the story by including captions for each of the photographs on the last pages.
The same author has done similarly captivating books on the subject of peace and water conservation.
Profile Image for Renee Wallace.
131 reviews6 followers
October 27, 2009
Get this book! I cannot think of a better way to express how I feel about it, other than to urge you to buy it or borrow it NOW. It is informative, educational, poignant, heart wrenching, jolly, lighthearted--the photos are beyond words.

To actually see how children around the globe spend their day--just amazing. it will make the American youngster sit up and take an interest, that's for sure.

I love this book.
Profile Image for Stacy.
915 reviews17 followers
November 14, 2011
I'm spoiled by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, I think. Amazing pictures and the text to describe them. This was a GoodReads recommendation based on their books and it led me to consider them as similar in style. This is a picture book for children with minimal text and actual photos instead of drawings. I would have loved the book if there was information on where the pictures were taken or the story behind the snapshot. I need more.
Profile Image for Saleh MoonWalker.
1,801 reviews263 followers
June 16, 2017
کتابی تصویری واقعا قشنگیه. نشون میده با اینکه در کشور های متفاوت زندگی میکنیم، با اینکه اینهمه با هم اختلاف داریم، خیلی از کارهایی که انجام میدیم در سراسر جهان یکیه. عکس ها عالین و متن های کوچکی هم کنارشون نوشته که روایت قشنگی دارن از اون عکس. نویسنده آخر کتاب هم در مورد لوکیشن هایی که عکس برداری کرده متنی نوشته که زیباست. بیشتر لوکیشن ها هم در چین، هند، عراق، ایتالیا، اندونزی، اسرائیل، استرالیا، جنوب آمریکا و کره هست.
197 reviews
June 27, 2017
A day in the life of children all around the world. Shows that children are all engaged in doing the same things, despite differences in geography and culture. Nice photos, but the content is a little too sparse. It would have been nice to see each concept presented fleshed out with a few pictures from different areas, rather than one picture per idea. I thought that "To Be a Kid" by Maya Ajmera addresses an identical topic and similar content in a more engaging way.
Profile Image for Marie.
343 reviews6 followers
June 2, 2009
EVERYONE should have a copy of this book! The photos are gorgeous, but it is the simplicity with which the day's activities are described and illustrated that makes the similarities among people so clear. In the back, each photo used in the book is shown with a caption. These captions provide a wealth of information.
Profile Image for Betsy.
1,786 reviews85 followers
June 25, 2013
Traces a day in the lives of children around the world through a simple text and well done photography. Contrast of different settings/foods/activities is nicely done. Back matter: author's note on inspiration for book plus her personal experiences; more information on each photograph; global map showing where each photograph was taken.
Profile Image for Marianna.
754 reviews24 followers
January 12, 2010
Love the concept...I wish the information that was included in the back had been more prominent in the pages of the book. For a younger audience this book is a good way to introduce the ideas of interconnectedness.
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,372 reviews39 followers
August 16, 2011
Amazing photos of how children spend their day all over the world. I loved reading where the photos were taken and a little about them... and I love that this book focussed on how much we have in common, despite small cultural differences. We are more alike than different.
416 reviews5 followers
Read
September 19, 2013
For lovers of top-notch photography, this is a great book. Every photo could lead to a lesson on cultural universals and cultural diversity. Beginning readers as well as independent readers can learn geography and become more globally aware of children living around the world.
Profile Image for Lisa.
155 reviews12 followers
May 3, 2015
From sunrise to sunset, children around the world have more things in common than they probably realize. From breakfast, to school, to friends, family, chores and winding down, basically, we are not so different as this book by National Geographic so vividly illustrates.
Profile Image for Jocelyn  Hanan .
56 reviews
May 25, 2017
I dont know why but i personally really dont like it when books have actual photographs in them. this book was simple probably fun to make for the author but i would much rather watch a documentary then read this book.
Profile Image for Judy Desetti.
1,381 reviews25 followers
December 21, 2011



Great photos and text about how people spend their day in various parts of the world. We all have more in common and experience many of the same daily activities.
Profile Image for LauraW.
763 reviews20 followers
January 3, 2015
Gorgeous pictures; interesting concept; good potential for further projects for kids; but the most interesting part for me was the section at the end that annotates the pictures.
1,450 reviews11 followers
February 1, 2019
A great book for helping small children understand that even if a child lives across the world from them, they have a lot in common. The National Geographic picture books are some of the best, since they are expert at visually representing people and places from all over the globe. My favorite pages are the ones with a single photo taking up the entire two-page spread, full bleed. However, the pages that have multiple photos sharing the space are expertly cropped and well done. As I do with many of these books, I wish the photos were labeled with their country instead of having to refer to the index at the end of the book. This could be done subtly, so I don’t know why they choose to do it in an index. However, the index gives a little bit of interesting and helpful information as background to the photographs, so don’t skip it!
4 reviews
September 8, 2018
One World, One Day. It might seem an easy book to read, but it has a lot of meanings into it. The book shows a picture from around the world about how kids spend their days. The book is easy to read and helpful to introduce little children to the concept of different cultures and people. It is also interesting for children because it shows what children their ages do during their day in a different part of the world. The book also gives us the idea of we as a plant is a big village that could share a lot of things that we do not notice. This book is a good lesson for a classroom full of diversity so children could learn to except people from different cultures. The book was written by Barbara Kerley.
Profile Image for Alix Kopf.
47 reviews
November 2, 2020
Copyright Date: 2009
Genre: Information
Theme: Culture, Routines, Living Life, Differences
My favorite part about this book is how it showed people from all difference cultures doing the same routine in different ways. Some kids ate churros for breakfast, some ate pancakes, and others ate porridge. I can use this book in my classroom to teach my kids everyone is different and that is okay. Differences should be celebrated and learned from.
Profile Image for Ellie.
51 reviews1 follower
November 1, 2020
Star rating: 3
Copyright date: 2009
Theme: Different lives, day to day routines

I really enjoyed the photographs in this book! It shows many different cultures and routines families and individuals experience. It shows what a full day would look like for many people. I would have this book in my future classroom library. Some students would be able to connect with the routines in the book.
Profile Image for Abby Pandina.
41 reviews
November 3, 2020
This story has an average of 4.22 stars, the copyright date is 2009, and the major theme includes similarities in the daily life of children from different cultures. My favorite part of this story was the beautiful photos of real people and places. I know my future students would enjoy hearing this story as a read aloud and viewing the photos from different areas around the world.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews

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