Name of Book: Come to the Great World:  Poems from Around the Globe

Author: Wendy Cooling

Illustrator: Sheila Moxley

Publisher: Holiday House

ISBN: 0823418227

Audience: Ages 4-9

Summary: A collection of thirty-one poems that were written by poets from around the world.  The collection represents an array of cultures and emphasizes the uniqueness of each while celebrating the universality of childhood. The poems bring us into the world of children. How they “think, play, talk and sing.” Kids will be able to see themselves in the poetry and can learn to appreciate the differences in their neighbors from around the world. The illustrations are vibrantly colorful and help to bring out some of the details of the poem. The poems cover a variety of topics including; adults, play, nature, poverty, and hope for the future.

Literary elements at work in the story:  A good book that exposes children to poetry and to the world in terms younger children can easily understand.  A great tool for helping children to further develop their understanding that God created the world and all that is in it and calls humankind to participate with joy and care in the life that we share with others on the earth.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic ability: The collection of poems will speak to all children and provides them with an opportunity to gain cultural insights by looking at the world from a more global perspective.

Theological conversation partners: Genesis 1, Psalm 24:1

Faith Talk Questions:

1.    What are some things that you have in common with your neighbors around the world?

2.    What are some things that are different?

3.    Do you think that the differences matter more than the similarities or vice versa? Why?

4.    Who created us all?

5.    Why is that important to remember when talking about other members of human race?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Susan Wills

Come to the Great World by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.