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A country far away
by Nigel Gray
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Macmillan/McGraw Hill School Pub. Co (1993)
ISBN: 0021794715
EAN: 9780021794713
Unknown Binding
SKU: FL0470
Condition: Good
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Customer Reviews
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Racism and stereotypes thinly veiled as cross-culturalism
Rating  (1)
Date: 2004-03-19
5 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
The first time i looked at this book, i was reviewing the children's library at the preschool where i work. i pulled it from the shelves as an embarassment to both cultures explored. For those who didn't know better, most African children don't spend their days shirtless, they go to the store, they attend school in uniform, and play modern games. An equally true reality is that of many White Americans whose lives are more like the "bush-boy" in this book. Racism is not always deliberate but it's always wrong.
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A Country Far Away
Rating  (4)
Date: 2001-11-20
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Using a unique style of arringing text and pictures, this book allows children to compare and contrast two very different cultures for themselves. The simplistic text is arranged in the center of the page describing daily events that happen in the life of a young boy. Two sets of pictures, above and below, surround the text. The top pictures display a boy doing an action in a small African village, while the lower pictures exhibit the same action being done by a boy in a United States suburb.
I belive this book is an exceptional teaching tool for younger children. It is an enticing introduction to the concept of comparing and contrasting countries. I like the simplistic language used that allows readers to delve into the illustrations to find similarities and differences between the two cultures on thier own. I would be a little careful using this book because of stereotypes that could be perceived. All parts of the countries might not be represented by the illustrations. A facilitator could help to point out that although the illustrations portray what it is like in some parts of the country, it could be very different throughout other parts of that country.
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Wonderful book!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2001-09-08
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a wonderful book to share with children. The illustrations depict stark differences between a little boy in America and a little boy in Africa even though they are doing the same things. This is an excellent teaching tool to use when explaining to children that although we do things in a different way, we are all very much alike.
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Help your kids understand life outside the US
Rating (4)
Date: 2000-11-09
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I found this book very thought-provoking, both for myself and my 4-year-old boy. The text about what each child does in his day is very simple, but the pictures dramatically illustrate the differences in their lives. "Where is their car? Where are all his toys? Why is their house dark?", my son asked! It's hard for me to explain poverty or why our worlds are so different, but at least now he seems to be a little less focused on "I want that!", since he realizes how much other children of the world NEED. It's worth buying for your family, and would be great for starting classroom discussions as well.
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This book shows how other countries are similar to ours.
Rating (4)
Date: 1999-07-11
0 out of 14 customers found this reveiw helpful
1. I think a kid would like this book because it's short and has many pictures. 2. I think a kid would not like this book because it's not funny. 3. If I could change one thing about this book, it would be to have more words. 4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I choose 4.
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