If kids ran the world

Leo Dillon

Book - 2014

In text and pictures, this book tells us how much better the world would be, if kids were allowed to run the world.

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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jE/Dillon Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc [2014]
Language
English
Main Author
Leo Dillon (author)
Other Authors
Diane Dillon (author)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm
ISBN
9780545441964
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"If kids ran the world," this warmhearted manifesto begins, "we would make it a kinder, better place." Seen against a bright white backdrop, a troupe of children in a rainbow of colors swarms through a flower garden, trimming, watering, and digging. "We'd take care of the most important things," the children say. "We know people are hungry, so all over the world, everyone would have enough to eat." They bring barrows and baskets full of delicious food to a banquet table. "Everyone would have a safe place to live.... Friendship, kindness and generosity would be worth more than money." The Dillons, in their final collaboration (Leo died in 2012), make the creation of this ideal world seem like play; there's no sanctimony, nor any sense of weary obligation. The spreads balance the lively activity of a parade with the rhythm and poise of classic tapestry. With these images of joyousness and boundless energy, the Dillons affirm and call forth the special gifts children have to give. Two brief afterwords discuss opportunities for kids to get involved and the inspiration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. All ages. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2-In this idealistic vision of our world as run by children, the Dillons imagine a utopia free of hunger, inequality, and poverty: "everyone would have enough to eat...Everyone would have a safe place to live," etc. Multicultural arrays of children clad in whimsical clothing fixedly grin from every page as they care for the environment and spread generosity, peace, and love. To be sure, the aspirations espoused by the voice of these "kids" are admirable and inspiring, and the title could be used to initiate classroom discussions about improving society. However, the tone of the narrative is somewhat didactic, and sentiments such as "No bullying would be allowed" and "Kids would love school" reveal a wistful adult rather than an enthusiastic child. Books like Peter Brown's The Curious Garden (Little, Brown, 2009) or Liz Garton Scanlon's All the World (S. &. S, 2009) express similar themes of world unity and children effecting change in a more subtle way.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

The Dillons' last collaboration aims to empower children, with an ostensibly child-narrated text imagining a world free of poverty and conflict because kids are in charge. But adult voices creep in, and there's no attempt to explain how kids would achieve their admirable goals. Rich illustrations show diverse groups of cheerful children working together--volunteering in hospitals, cleaning up trash, and more. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Leo Dillons last book with Diane Dillon imagines what the world would be like if children were in charge.The Dillons envision a world of peace, fairness and kindness, where everyones basic needs would be met. No one would be hungry, and everyone would have a place to live. Sick people would have medicine, and good schools would be universal. Unsurprisingly, this world is populated with smiling, happy children of many skin tones, wearing clothing from all corners of the world and representing a variety of religions. The figures on each spread are painted against a bright white background, making the children pop off the page in contrast. An unvarying optimism oozes from each word and illustration, creating a strange world of sameness that may remind some of 1970s-era educational tracts. Paintings of many children in traditional costumes add to that generic, Its a Small World feeling. The educational tone extends into a three-page sermon about childrens volunteerism and a discussion of Franklin Roosevelts Second Bill of Rights. Children might enjoy the pictures, but even they will be stretched to imagine a world where No bullying would be allowed; how many schools extend this promise without delivering? With so little to pin this book to the world actual children are living in, it feels like a gesture rather than a call to action.Well-meaning but saccharine and didactic. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.