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Our Children's Librarian columnist, Julie Booker, brings us a new view from the stacks every month.

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How do you foster world-mindfulness in children? With a good wall map that's referred to often. This is one of the great tips found at the end of If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World's People (2nd edition), by David J. Smith and Canadian illustrator Shelagh Armstrong. It asks, "What if the world's population were a village of 100 people?" Each page answers using one aspect of the global village, i.e., nationality (60 would be from Asia; five would be from Canada/US); language (only nine would speak English); age (37 would be under 19); and food (there would be seven times as many chickens as people). The inequities become profoundly obvious when it comes to access to clean air and water, school, work, money, and possessions. Beautifully illustrated, this large picture book is recommended for grades four and up. 

Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together, by Herb Shoveller, is non-fiction told in story form. It b …