On the way to school by Vikki Conley. Illus. by Lucia Masciullo

Going to school may be a common activity for children around the world, but many get to school in very different ways. This delightful rhyming story shows children on foot, catching a bus, riding a cablecar, crossing on a bridge, by canoe and toboggan. All with the same aim of getting to school.

Many different environments are shown giving a hint as to where each child lives. We see snowy streets, streets which are more familiar, children riding a donkey in a mountainous region, children rushing for a bus, canoeing down a river, some walking hand in hand through the fields, one brave child on a sling going across a ravine, catching a very fast train, walking through streets where cows roam freely.

The happy dancing, laughing children move across each page, encouraging the readers to laugh along with the children they see. It will an interesting discussion about where these children are, expanding the life views of the readers. A map at the end of the book will help the readers locate the place where these children live. 

Wonderfully exuberant illustrations encourage the reader to join in the fun shown on each page. The illustrations reveal a diversity of children and methods of travel, and how some children overcome the barriers put in their way making travelling to school ore difficult for them. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Diversity, Travel, School, Difference.

Fran Knight