What the World Eats

I agree with the reviewer that said to get Hungry Planet instead if it's for older kids. But this version makes the material more accessible for younger children. Food offers a concrete way to relate to other cultures. The photos of families with a week's worth of groceries bring out cultural differences and make differences in affluence vivid and explicit. When my six-year-old daughter saw the photo of one family from a refugee camp with their meager sacks of food--in dramatic contrast to the abundant array of colorful packaged foods surrounding the families of developed countries--she asked, bewildered, "why do they have so little?" (Um, do you want the short answer to that, or the long answer?) There are so many ways to compare the photos and think about differences in diet. Every photo seems to tell many stories, often surprising. The book helps children understand poverty, malnutrition, and the industrial food system, but also invites them to marvel at the fascinating variety of food worldwide, and develop curiosity about other cultures.

This book is fascinating, and the photos are lovely. Each story includes a detailed shopping list for a week's groceries, as well as the cost in US dollars. I found the focus on diabetes and obesity tiresome by the end of the book. I would have preferred more information about the families and their foods. I found myself wondering how the ingredients on the grocery lists were prepared.

Wow and wow. We love this book. We have had a lot of big juicy conversations with our ten year olds thanks to this. Beautiful photography, the story of each family written in narrative, engaging, interesting, and so so important in teaching our kids that the world isn't always how it is here in the States.

Now called "Hungry Planet" this books goes along with the Visits To... series in the Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum. With this older edition, you will have to go through the table of contents to find the correct pages, because the page numbering has changed from WTWE to Hungry Planet, and the curriculum reflects those changes.

Great book for kids to see what other families around the world eat. Color pictures throughout the book.

Great coffee table book that is very interesting to read or simply flip through the pages. The stark difference to some countries and the amazing similarities to others jumps out at you immediately as look through the pages. I bought this copy as a gift for a friend and they absolutely love it. Foodies and food curious alike will enjoy this.

Well done - I'm glad I ordered it.

This is such a great book. Wonderfully done and very thought provoking. Good quality item. Highly recommended.

Even though the book can only focus on so many families around the world, I still think it gives a pretty good picture of what people eat in different parts of the globe and how much better some people in the third world countries eat with their few local chemical free fruit and vegetables than many in the first world countries with their dependance on packaged and processed foods, red meat and soft drinks. So few green vegetables on those tables......:( A great book to read to your food fussy kids!The book also gives interesting details of their everyday lives and the pictures are great.Recommended for all ages.

Bought as an addition to our homeschool curriculum. This is one of our most looked at books. The photographs are large and really highlight the differences in other countries. Our children enjoy looking over it again and again.

I love this book. We are using this for our study of different countries in our homeschool. I find that it brings some life to what we are doing, and allows my child to compare her own life to that of others around the world. Definitely recommended, whether for homeschool or just general interest.

Sehr eindrucksvolles Buch. Aussagekräftige Bilder mit entsprechender Beschreibung. Macht einem bewusst, wie unterschiedlich es auf der Welt zugeht und welche Priorität welchem Essen bzw. welchen Lebensmitteln zugeschrieben wird. Aufschlussreich und teils auch erstaunlich bzw. erschreckend.

A great way to compare economic circumstances of different people all over the world since food often reflects wealth; however, in addition, the book shows us how healthy/unhealthy some culture typically eats. A great photo essay that even primary school children understand.