Wonderful Houses Around the World

by Yoshio Komatsu, Naoko Amemiya, Akira Nishiyama

Book Overview

Travel to 10 different countries, and learn about the children, their families, and their unique homes.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth 1,000 words--and that's never been more true than with Wonderful Houses Around the World. The informative book introduces children to a variety of cultures with 10 glorious, two-page photographic spreads of homes and the families who live inside. Each exterior picture is accompanied by an illustration of the home's interior, with various family members engaged in typical daily activities. Descriptive captions explain the everyday lives of the children and families: where each house is located, the environmental conditions that affect the house design, how each family lives in the home, and their possessions-- all providing interesting glimpses of life in other cultures.

There has never been a photographer of buildings like Yoshio Komatsu. He has traveled extensively around the world for more than 25 years, photographing hand-built homes. The 10 houses profiled here include a red-mud dwelling with thatched towers in Togo, a yurt in Mongolia, a donut-shaped communal building in China, and more. Other countries visited in this educational book include Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Romania, Senegal, Spain, and Tunisia.

Book Features

Spotlight on 10 homes in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America
Large, full-color photo of each home
Detailed interior illustrations by Akira Nishiyama
Captions and text about the children's daily lives

Fascinating and unique, Wonderful Houses Around the World gives children a welcome introduction to other places and other lives throughout the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093607034X
• ISBN13: 9780936070346
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Shelter Publications
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.6" x 9.9"
• Age Range: 5 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 7

Customer Reviews

Love this book!

We love this book so much! I bought it for my child's homeschooling but I have to admit it's so interesting I have sat down and looked at it by myself a couple of times. It has a photograph of the outside of each home and then a beautiful illustration of the inside of each home and the people who live in the home.

Shh, I bought it for myself

Supposedly I bought this book just for a gift for someone's kid. Yes, the gift was given, but not before I enjoyed it a few times! Anyone who enjoys the diversity of living structures will enjoy the kid-centered tone, amenable to inspiring childlike wonder no matter what your age, of the descriptions of various habitats around the world, most of them "green". I've always loved kid-level technical drawings, as done here: hand-drawn, colorful illustrations of the different areas of a mudhouse, a round house, an underground house -- with people depicted living in them. May make your kid want to grow up to be an architect.

Amazing book!

I was impressed and delighted by this book! I bought it for our little boy, and he couldn't put it down ... The photographs are amazing, and the information provided in the book is priceless - for children and adults alike... This excellent book will be a wonderful addition to any library! Thank you!!!