Cynthia Pon

Photographs from around the world celebrate the universal joy that kids get from making music, whether they're playing instruments, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, or singing. Music can help express one child's feelings--or it can bring a whole community together.

In this new title from The Global Fund for Children, readers learn the different ways kids from around the world can stay healthy. Photographs showcase children from Afghanistan washing their hands, a team of boys from Australia playing sports, a group of girls from Panama wearing their seatbelts. There are many ways kids can practice healthy living, no matter where they live. In a foreword by Melinda French Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, readers are reminded that not all children are lucky enough to have access to clean water, or to receive vaccines regularly. Back matter includes further information about how to live healthy lives, and how kids can help to improve healthy living around the world so that more kids become healthy kids. With the establishment of programs like First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative which emphasizes the significance of focusing on children's health issues around the world, HEALTHY KIDS is a welcome addition that will help increase awareness of this important issue.

A celebration of clothing in bright, beautiful photographs of exuberant and diverse children from around the world, WHAT WE WEAR: DRESSING UP AROUND THE WORLD inspires young readers to explore the way clothing makes them feel and how it tells the world who they are. What we wear can identify who we are: what team we play for or what team we root for, where we go to school, how we worship, or how we represent our heritage. What we wear expresses our individuality, and clothes can make us happy, confident, and proud. Whether it's a piper in a tartan plaid, a cowpoke in a cowboy hat, or a novice in ceremonial face paint, children everywhere wear different clothes and accessories for different reasons. But, one thing they all have in common is that they are all unique and beautiful. Backmatter encourages young readers to explore the way people dress in other countries and other cultures at folk festivals, at museums, and at home by asking about their own family heritage.

Grandpa, Bibi, Yeye and Grann . . . This striking album captures the intergenerational relationships between children and grandparents around the world. The brief text and striking photographs bring their joy and affection into focus. Includes a touching foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.