Ben Handicott

The good:

Charming, whimsical artwork, variety of languages and phrases, maps showing relationship between the different countries’ languages.

The bad:

First of all, so many languages didn't make the cut. So many common languages. This book is advertised as featuring both common and lesser-known languages, and for highlighting more than just a country's official language when there are pocket communities who use another. So, for example, how is it Canada's and the USA's substantial population show more of Pennsylvania Dutch speakers don't seem to exist here? It's such a distinct dialect of Deutsch (Deitsch!), and it covers such a broad geographic range, and it isn't even mentioned. Also, too much information that did make the cut has been relegated to the app. No pronunciation is given (not even IPA, which is both succinct and precise), nor any explanation on the languages and their difference. I have listened, for example, to the news from Paris and from Quebec, and even though they’re both recorded in French, they have a distinctly different sound. The Democratic Republic of the Congo uses yet a different style of pronunciation. In addition, even the similarities are hard to spot. Languages that are related often have words that are cognate, but here, the related languages are often separated by others in between, making it hard to see their linguistic connection. There’s enough here to inspire kids, I guess, but I think the most I got out of it was being able to look at a map and see (some of the places) where these different languages are spoken. I don’t know how useful or practical any of it is.

The ugly:

I had such a wretched time with the app. I thought, when I got the book, that the book would be a complete thing unto itself. But that’s not the case here; this book is meant to be read alongside an app that will talk in all the languages. That sounded nice at first, since I’d much rather hear something than read a person try to describe how something should sound. However, it was a little alarming to me how absolutely central the app was to understanding the book. (I mean, doesn’t the book mean anything?) Anyway, I installed the app, and it doesn’t work. I can select a country or a language, and I can see the picture of a smiling child, but the app freezes up and won’t speak. I tried restarting, uninstalling, reinstalling—nothing. I told some relatives, and we tried it on three different devices, and it didn’t work anywhere. Worse, I couldn’t even delete it successfully; now, it randomly keeps trying to re-install itself, and it makes the whole device crash. I can’t make it go away. So, to sum up, the book is kind of worthless without the app, and the app is kind of worthless anyway. Cute pictures, and a nice idea, but far too inaccessible to be worthwhile. show less

What a fun book!! As a kid, I would have devoured this book which has everything I ever wanted! Each page is set up in a similar manner, but have so much interesting information about that country. The table of contents is a map (which is cool) and the 50 countries included have the page numbers on it. The first page is a sample page which explains how each page is set up with the welcome box, spotlight of important facts, moments to remember in a timeline, chart of key details (capital, show more population, currency, language, motto, national bird, animal, and flower). There is also a glossary and index that are easy to use. As you turn each page, you travel the world and are immersed in the their history and the culture. Kids can read and explore this book on their own or can read with family to dream of travel to far away lands.
I would recommend this for any teacher, parent, or adult with elementary age children. It could open up a whole new world to explore.
Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own. show less

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and the author for the ARC of this book.

I need more! These maps are so beautiful and totally chocked full of information. I would love a part of 2 of 50 More Maps of the World, as there are so many countries to learn about. I think this is a fun book for kids to look through or visual-oriented adults like myself to flip through from the coffee table. Now, I've not delved into the accuracy of the maps themselves, but did show more thoroughly enjoy them. Some readers have mentioned having more diversity, which could maybe be attained by having a Part 2 of more countries. This book does inspire me to learn more about other countries and cultures and strengthen my resolve to visit more! show less

This was an interesting read. Each page is a map that points out various interesting things that happen, reside, or belong in that country or region. The authors have made sure to point out the weird and the wonderful, like the world's longest escalator that's inside a golden dragon, the Poo museum, and that there are 2 Guggenheim museums. This is very well done and an interesting way of learning new things. It had this reader googling things to see the real deal and not just the little show more illustrations. show less