At the Same Moment, Around the World by Clotilde Perrin

Travel around the world all in a single moment and explore the time zones in this picture book.  It all begins at 6:00 in the morning in Senegal where they are counting the fish caught the night before.  Then the book moves one time zone after another, so at the same exact time it is 8 am in Bulgaria where a boy chases a school bus.  It is also noon in the Himalayas where they are eating lunch.  On the pages turn, hour by hour, yet each in the same exact point of time.  This book is a tour of not only our world but of the time zones and how we structure time on earth.

Perrin has very cleverly created a book that truly displays how time zones work around the world.  She has also worked to make this a very inclusive book that celebrates our diversity as well as the time structure that holds us all together.  Each page is another country, another way of life, another glimpse into a lifestyle.

Perrin’s art is fine-lined and detailed.  She plays with light and dark as the day passes as we move around the world.  There are details on each of the images that also speak directly to that country.  I would have appreciated more information at the end of the book about these touches.  At the end of the book is a fold-out map that is very useful and will be critical in getting children to truly understand time zones.  It’s a very welcome addition.

A clever way to approach time zones, this book comes full circle by the end, returning to the same moment in Senegal.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.