Description: "A class spends recess imagining that various objects are the world, but nothing is quite as suitable for everyone to share as the actual, full-size world is"-- Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes: Dialogue-driven action from Barr (The Upside Down Hat) successfully captures the spirit of playground politics, while thick chromatic outlining and light shading imbue radiant, rainbow-hued colored-pen and -pencil drawings by Ford (I Love Your Face!) with a boisterousness that aptly conveys the energy of the crowd's exploits.
--Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) If the message is overt, it's been given an innovative, fresh presentation here: unusually engaging, accessible, and aimed directly at its audience. Ford's cartoony illustrations rock with kinetic energy, and his portrayal of the class both as a collective whole and as distinctive individuals is an estimable accomplishment and spot-on for the book's theme--all kinds of people need to work together to protect our Earth.
--The Horn Book (starred review) If This Were the World . . . is a delightful book about recess--and so much more. Stephen Barr's imaginative text starts with an immediately mesmerizing premise. . . . A.G. Ford's colored pencil illustrations are full of humorous fun. . . .
--BookPage (starred review) Lively, cartoonish pen-and-ink drawings in rainbow hues successfully convey the boisterous enthusiasm of the students and their diverse personalities. . . . This enjoyable picture book offers a great conversation starter about cooperative play wrapped in subtle undertones about the importance of taking care of Earth.
--School Library Journal The gentle message, wrapped up in freewheeling recess fun, resonates.
--Booklist