P Is for Passport: A World Alphabet

by Devin Scillian

Book Overview

A passport and rhyming text celebrate the author's adventures discovering differences as well as similarities, from "A" for the variety of animals that populate the planet to "Z" for the time zones that mark the days around the world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585361577
• ISBN13: 9781585361571
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 11.0" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 6 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 3

Customer Reviews

Take the A Train to Tunisia...

If a book is the destination, then reading is the journey. Or, a passport and a library card have a common purpose: they take you to places known and unknown. Many teachers have themes for their school year. My theme for 2009-2010 is "The Library: Your Passport to Anywhere." This book, "P is for Passport," gave me the idea. Devin Scillian created 26 things that people of the world have in common and wrote script to identify them. Then the publishers hired illustrators from around the world to create visuals--altogether a multicultural effort to depict a multicultural world. As in most alphabet books, there is the fairly simple script, then on the opposite page details highlighting content in the script. For example, B: "A British boy in Brighton, eating a buttery bun, Another boy in Brooklyn eats a bagel in the sun. .... B is for Bread all over the world, baking every day." On the opposite page the reader learns what bread is made of, that it is prehistoric, comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Then the types of bread identified in the passage are defined: bagel, damper, baguette, tortillas, naan. By the way, there are "biscuits in Baton Rouge" (the capital of my home state). Other letters: C is for Currency, D is for Desert, which covers about one-fifth of our world, E is for Everest, which stands over 20 Empire Buildings high and is the tallest mountain in the world (what we all share), F is for Faith, G is for Grain. Try dumplings in Munich, ramen in Tokyo, or a platter of pasta, a breakfast of porridge, or Mexican corn, Moroccan couscous, or Kansas wheat, or in China they ask, "Have you had your rice today?" What is H? Home, of course: a horse farm in Halifax, a high-rise in Honolulu, a houseboat in Hong Kong, a Holland hotel, a hostel in Hiroshima, a hacienda in Honduras, a historic hearth in Rome. Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, Greece, Skye, and the famous P.E.I. (Prince Edward Island of Canada, famous for "Anne of Green Gables"). Yes, I is for Islands. L is for Language, P is for Passport and for People, Q is for Quest (what are we seeking? The monster in Loch Ness? To kiss the Blarney Stone? To admire the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? To hike the Appalachian Trail?) T is for Travel: "Something happens on every journey as each new map is unfurled. That's why T stands for Travel, for travel can save the world. You see, each trip a traveler takes is a moment that you spend getting to know a whole new world. And that world becomes your friend." W is the Wonders of the World, that can "wow you or move you to tears," such as the Pyramids of Egypt, Machu Picchu, Big Ben, St. Louis Arch, Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, and Eiffel Tower. Z? Zone, of course, an amazing concept, considering that you can theoretically fly into the past or future, depending upon your destination. Back to destination. Scillian includes a poem at the beginning identifying his favorite book: "I know it's small. It's my favorite book. It's filled with wond

P is for Passport review

This is a beautifully illustrated alphabet book on geography. Each page has a two-page illustration, with a rhyming verse on the topic (i.e. P is for People), and a side-bar with more in-depth information. One warning: "K is for knapsack". Why use a silent "k" for the K page? If you are trying to teach your children letter sounds via this book, this page is confusing. I would recommend this for libraries and schools, but don't think it's a "Must Have" for home.

Beautiful introduction to geography

This book beautifully illustrates geography in all its different forms, particularly the physical and cultural forms. What a delightful opportunity to sit down with your child and share the world of geography.

A Wonderful Classroom Tool!

I recently purchased "P is for Passport" and I loved it. This is a superb book and I would strongly recommend it for any grade level of teacher. I used it to help a presentation over world languages for a summer day camp. The kids ranged from K-6. They all loved it. The kindergarteners could go along with the alphabet and the sixth graders could relate it to their world geography studies.

AMAZING!

This book is incredible! I will soon be an Early Childhood Educator and purchased this book because I have been so pleased with other purchases from Sleeping Bear Press. Scillian has outdone himself with this absolutely wonderful book! Regardless of age level, I can think of a million ways to use thi book when I start teaching! Buy one for yourself and as a Christmas present!