One World, One Home, One Moment
It’s midnight in London. While the rest of the city sleeps, two little girls lie awake – imagining what’s happening elsewhere in the world, in that very same moment. Imagining penguins on the Antarctic ice, and kangaroos in the Australian outback … Imagining humpback whales, deep under the sea, and albatrosses, soaring over the waves … Between the twelve chimes of midnight – the magic hour – we’ll travel with them to visit creatures of every shape and size, in a trip around the world and back.
Wow! This book is brilliant and beautiful and everything that you might imagine a collaboration between the wonderful Nicola Davies and the talented Jenni Desmond to be.
One World takes young readers and their grown ups around the globe and back again.
Beginning with an explanation of Greenwich Mean Time and time zones we then see all that is happening on Planet Earth in just one moment.
I love the concept of this book and it has been executed perfectly.
Through the magic midnight hour we meet a polar bear family in Svalbard. We learn a little about these majestic animals and how climate change is making their future uncertain.
In Zambia we meet a herd of elephants and hear how they need protection from poachers who want to kill them for their tusks.
In India we witness turtle hatchlings race for the ocean guided by the bright line of the horizon. We learn how their lives are endangered by pollution and humans taking their eggs for food.
In China we hear gibbons whooping.
We swim with whale sharks in The Philippines.
In Australia we meet a mob of kangaroos. Boomers, Flyers and their joeys. I had not realised until reading this book that I did not know the names for male and female kangaroos. I hope these amazing animals survive the scorching heat and bush fires that are increasingly threatening their habitats.
Penguins of Antarctica are survivors. But they need our help to protect their feeding grounds from boats and fishing. Climate change is melting the ice on their continent and life is getting harder for the Emperors.
Some hope from Hawaii where we learn that a change in human behaviour has led to Orca numbers increasing. We can learn to change. We can make a difference. We must.
This book filled with facts and stunning illustrations is an incredibly moving call to arms for young people and their grown ups.
Our planet and all who inhabit her need our help. We are the guardians of the planet, we need to act, we need to come together to defend our wonderful wild planet. We must be the voice of those who cannot tell their stories themselves.
In California we see the bright colours of the flowers that are vital for the survival of brilliant beas and beautiful hummingbirds. Without these precious pollinators human beings would have no fruit or vegetables. We must do more to protect their habitats.
In the forests of Ecuador we learn how trees may be cut down to make room for oil wells. Can we not leave the oil beneath the ground and keep the forest and defend all who dwell in her?
Brazil is home to magnificent jaguars and Nicola Davies tells us how farmers here are making changes so that they and their cattle can live happily alongside the beautiful big cats.
In South Georgia we hear how albatross chicks can sometimes be fed bottle tops and ring pulls by their parents because they mistake them for food. This is a direct consequence of our selfish actions. We need to make a change.
One World shows little readers how human behaviour is damaging the planet and destroying ecosystems. How our actions have direct consequences for all creatures great and small around the globe. Nicola and Jennie show us how we are all connected and how we must make changes to the way we live on Planet Earth, before it is too late. Our world is beautiful. Our world is fragile and threatened.
We need to change now because tomorrow is already here!
This is a wonderful book. A perfect read for Earth Day next month. One for your coffee table. One to gift to all the young people you know and grown ups too. We are all part of this world and we all have a role to play in the defence of Our Mother Earth.
This powerful and poignant book is a perfect place to start.