Pages attached to the front inside cover open to the left and show a boy in Sydney, Australia. On the opposite cover, pages open to the right and follow a boy in rural Morocco. A bilingual introduction (the book is otherwise wordless) notes that the boys' lives are different but also similar; Baker's minutely detailed collages will keep viewers searching for comparisons.

Two side-by-side wordless stories mirror each other in more ways than one. Pages attached to the front inside cover open to the left and show a boy in Sydney, Australia. On the opposite cover, pages open to the right and follow a boy in rural Morocco. A bilingual introduction notes that the boys' lives are different but also similar, and the nifty comparisons begin on the covers, as each boy looks out a window at the moon; a big city and a remote village, but the same moon. (And two very different animals appear in the pictures -- an Australian brushtail possum and a crane in Morocco -- but both are known to frequent rooftops.) The stories begin with the families preparing for a father-son outing -- one by car to a hardware store, the other by donkey to a marketplace. Baker's minutely detailed collage art will keep viewers busy searching for comparisons, which are made easier with similar-colored clothing (the fathers in light blue, the baby siblings in yellow, etc.). Scenes that seem starkly different slowly reveal similarities (busy streets versus unpopulated mountains and valleys, yet the squiggly lines of highway resemble the winding path in Morocco); some scenes share unexpected commonalities (at the store in Sydney are a man in a turban and a woman in a headscarf; at the marketplace, people talk on cell phones). Viewers will thrill to see the Moroccan dad selling a carpet (woven by the boy's mother) to a man, while on the facing spread the Australian dad buys that same rug from the same man at a shop called 'Magic Carpets.' Magic, indeed. JENNIFER M. BRABANDER

This entirely original book is a strong contender to bring to a desert island, especially as it's two books in one. Open the "books" simultaneously, in English from left to right and in Arabic from right to left. Scan the pictures and compare family life and global interdependence as the panorama of urban and rural scenes from two very different countries unfolds. Wordless, except for an introduction and an illustrator's afterword in English and Arabic, the pictures allow readers to meet an Australian boy and a Moroccan boy whose lives become interconnected. The Moroccan boy and his father sell a rug woven in their rural home, and it ends up in Sydney, in a small house that is being renovated by an Australian family. As the boy in Australia draws a picture of his new "flying carpet," the Moroccan boy sets up his computer, bought with profits from the rug. Baker's entrancing collages, packed with visual information and created with fabric, sand, vegetation and other unusual materials, have the power to bring back child and adult viewers for infinite "readings." Perfectly spectacular. (Picture book. All ages)

Wondrously illustrated, this very unusual picture book depicts an average day in a young boy's life from two very different cultures: Moroccan and Australian. One boy is immersed in the latest technology in a big city while the other lives a very modest, almost impoverished life in a small village. Appealing to young students, the layered collage illustrations provide a fascinating view of the two; side-by-side pages depict the boys' daily routines. Children will be fascinated as they discover details that show the similarities and differences in the boys' lives. There are no words except for the introduction, which is written in English and Arabic, but the book reveals a simple message of love, family, and acceptance. Highly Recommended. Gigi Long, Library Media Specialist, Lee County School District, Jonesville, Virginia

Opening this expertly designed picture book reveals two parallel wordless tales: one to be read left to right, the other right to left. The stories follow a day in the family life of two boys, who live in urban Australia and the Valley of Roses in southern Morocco, respectively, as Baker explains in an afterword, written in English and Arabic. In layered, three-dimensional collages, Baker shows the differences between the families (traveling to an open-air market by donkey versus a trip to a hardware megastore in a CitroIn), but it is the underlying commonalities-helping parents, doing chores, caring for pets, sharing meals-that will resonate most. Ages 5-7. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 4-Baker binds two books into one, allowing readers to simultaneously open stories comparing Australian and Moroccan cultures. In each, father and son journey to a type of market-one family travels by van, the other by camel. Collage constructions feature the handwoven Moroccan carpet that connects the two families. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.