This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamothe

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Figure 1. This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World book cover (2019).

Evaluation of Book

This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamothe depicts a normal day for seven different children, ages seven to eleven, that live in seven different countries from around the world. Each kid describes their housing, typical meals, family dynamics, clothing, transportation to school, and so much more throughout the book. This allows the reader a snapshot of one child within different cultures. The differences and similarities give the big picture of how unique each person is while still being the same as someone on the opposite side of the world.

This story is told from a child’s point of view though the countries are emphasized. For each section of the book, the country order changes, to ensure each gets equal coverage and no biases comes through the format of the book. However, the description provided by the child accompanies the country title and pictures instead of the kid’s name. Also, the author underlined uncommon words and defined them at the back of the book in the glossary. This allows the children to use precise vocabulary from their country instead of needing to explain everything to the reader. It makes each section more realistic.

The best part about the book is the digitally rendered illustrations that reinforce the text. The best examples of this occur when the kids describe the foods they consume for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Items like plantains, makoke, and paneer paratha make more sense when seeing the picture of the food along with the words. When reading, children are taught to use context clues. This this case, the pictures are the clues. Another great example of this, the section on “This is what I wear to school.” The true look of a striped dress Kei likes to wear in Japan verses the look of the red T-shirts worn by Daphine in Uganda reinforces what the items truly look like.

Luckily, the illustrations do not only reinforce, but also extend and help develop the full story for each section of the story. For the pictures depicting “This is how I go to school,” the buildings of the area, the vegetation, and other details explain more than what the kid tells. One example, the picture of Peru’s tropical vegetation, style of houses, two lane main road, and Peruvian tuk-tuk tell more than what Ribaldo, the 11-year-old kid, explains in his one sentence. The pictures in “This is where I sleep” also extend the story, showing what the beds look like along with what normally can be found around the bed. For Kian, the Iranian seven-year-old, family pictures hang on the walls while toys line his bookshelves while Romeo, the eight-year-old boy from Italy, sports a flat screen TV, books, toys, and other electronics on the shelves of his. These added details give a better picture of the lifestyle for each kid.

Response

While reading This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World, key elements of the stories mirrored my own life experiences. When I started traveling internationally, I tried to befriend people within the countries. They taught me about their daily lives and allowed me to see a day in their lives. The foods, houses, activities, and rooms reflect those depicted in this book. I have eaten fried and boiled plantains, chapati, miso soup, and a few of the other foods. The text also agrees with my view of the world. The types of housing and modes of transportation fit with my experiences while traveling the world except a house in Tokyo. Not once did I notice a single home house in Tokyo when traveling around there. If I get to go back, I will look for such a thing. And the main principle of the book addresses things that I care about. The idea that all of us are similar and can relate at some level, to the point we all see the same sky at night, resonates with me. That was my goal when traveling, to experience others’ cultures in the hopes of broadening my views and becoming more accepting of others. When you live the same lifestyle as others, walking in their shoes becomes more of a possibility.

Conclusion

This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World is a great book for elementary students on up. And with the kids telling the stories along with the plethora of pictures that represent common place items like utensils, bedrooms, neighborhoods, and more, many kids should relate while also being enticed by the stories and learning about the cultures. The only drawback is that not all kids go to the biography, nonfiction area, which is the genre for this book. Due to this, a librarian or parent might need to help place this book into the right student’s hands. Then that person can talk the book up so that others know they might enjoy it too. And because of this one drawback, the book only earns three and a half stars out of four.

Citation

Lamothe, M. (2017). This is how we do it: one day in the lives of seven kids from around the world. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Willis, C. (2019). This is how we do it: one day in the lives of seven kids from around the world book cover (photo). Retrieved March 15, 2019 from https://drive.google.com/file/d/114FbNnDpVCYsIgYbON8_a_ShCSFWx92C/view?usp=sharing