For Every Child A Better World - Softcover

Henson, Jim

4.32

56 ratings by Goodreads

9780307156280: For Every Child A Better World

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307156281 ISBN 13: 9780307156280

Publisher: Golden Books, 1993

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The familiar character of Kermit the Frog teaches young readers about the plight of young children who lack the basic human necessities and the efforts of the United Nations to provide such essentials as housing, water, food, and medical aid.

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From Publishers Weekly:

This eager-to-please picture book wins plaudits for good intentions, though unfortunately for little else. Executed in a style that could well be called "Muppet multicultural" (the critters appear in just about every skin color imaginable, including purple, green and blue), the work is dedicated to the memory of Audrey Hepburn and published "in cooperation with the United Nations" (a portion of the proceeds will help support various U.N. projects). The double-spread pages present a series of happy/sad contrasts that employ minimal text ("Every child needs food to eat") and cartoon-like illustrations to depict the world's haves and have-nots. Kermit the Frog narrates and appears on the "happy" pages, declaring what every child has a right to--food, clean water, clean air to breathe, a home, education. The bright borders of these scenes evoke various settings--Africa, the Australian Outback, India, Greece, the Tyrol--and contrast sharply with the drab, mud-colored "sad" pages ("But sometimes there isn't enough"). The book's motive--to open children's minds and hearts to the world's problems--is admirable; however, the commercial tone and simplistic format lack subtlety and depth. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Nine statements outlining children's basic needs and how they often go unmet--e.g., ``Every child needs food to eat. But sometimes there isn't enough to go around.'' The accompanying art depicts Kermit the Frog as narrator and features Sesame Street- style characters in many colors (blue, purple, pink, green). But while the characters are in a cartoon style, they express real emotions, and their settings are composed of realistic elements: a smoke-spewing city where the air is too dirty to breathe, an orderly classroom, an ineffective shelter in a rainstorm, a battlefield with shattered household goods (including a toy bear and the wounded in the background silhouetted against yellow flames). The result is that the concepts are made immediately accessible but not trivialized. Images and motifs from many cultures appear in the illustrations and borders (a painting of Mount Fuji in a well-equipped hospital), implying that plenty and deprivation occur all over the world. A serious book, with appeal for a wide audience, that can do only good. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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