One world : 24 hours on Planet Earth /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Take a magical ride around the globe to see the wonders of a single moment in a story illuminating our precious and fragile natural world.

Our planet is always turning. It may be midnight in London, but in different time zones other living things are waking up, ready to hunt or feed or fight. As the clock strikes twelve, two sisters are spirited away on a journey to glimpse, in the span of a moment, extraordinary biodiversity: a mother polar bear and her cubs hunting seals in Svalbard, tiny turtles in India following the moon toward the sea, and enormous whale sharks gulping plankton in the Philippines. Quietly profound, this glowing tribute to the natural world--and reminder of its fragility--blends accessible science, lyricism, sweeping artwork, and a call for climate awareness into an ideal companion book for Earth Day, or any wondrous day on Earth.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Davies and Desmond use time zones as the framing for a conservation-oriented tour of Earth in this eye-opening journey led by two kids, both portrayed with brown skin. The pair begin at nearly midnight in Greenwich, London, then head to Svalbard at 1 a.m., where they spot a polar bear mother and cubs: "Every year now the ice melts earlier, making hunting hard. The future of this little family is not certain." At 8 a.m., they swim among whale sharks in the Philippines, while a 4 p.m. stop at California's Pinnacles National Park finds them nestled in a red wildflower. On each page, text contrasts the beauty of the setting with the danger lurking from human-caused environmental damage. Lushly imagined mixed-media illustrations offer a birds-eye view, suggesting the vastness of the planet with documentary-style spreads of penguins dotting the snow far into the horizon or hundreds of baby sea turtles covering a moonlit beach. The suggestion that all this ecological magic exists at the same time buttresses the direct call to save the Earth. Creators' notes conclude. Ages 6--9. (Mar.)

Kirkus Book Review

A journey around the globe highlights ecological dangers the world over. At midnight, two brown-skinned children living in London, in the borough of Greenwich, where time zones begin, take an instantaneous trip around the world to drop in on other regions (and time zones) "and see what's happening on Planet Earth in just one moment." The children observe a humpback whale in Maui (where it's 2 p.m.), owl monkeys waking in Ecuador (7 p.m.), albatrosses nesting on Bird Island, South Georgia (10 p.m.), and more. The voyage is meant to evoke not only wonder at the natural beauty of the world, but also concern. Davies peppers the narrative with examples of how changing climates have made life more challenging for these animals, and as the youngsters return home, they travel "over ocean, where plastic clogs the waves; back over land…where fires burn and, everywhere, signs show the world is getting warmer." The lesson on time zones and how the world's animals spend their time becomes an ode to Earth Day, complete with protest signs, which muddies the book's sense of exploration. It's hard to argue with the message, but the wondrous sights, depicted in Desmond's enchanting mixed-media illustrations with colors that pop, seem dulled by the environmental pitch. Wordy backmatter--including notes from the author and artist and information on climate change--tells rather than shows. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Beautifully illustrated and well meaning, if a bit heavy-handed. (Informational picture book. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Nicola Davies was born on May 3, 1958. She is an English zoologist and writer. She was one of the original presenters of the BBC children's wildlife programme The Really Wild Show. She has also made her name as a children's author. Her books include Home, which was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award, and Poo (2004), which was illustrated by Neal Layton, and was shortlisted for a Blue Peter Book Award in 2006; in the United States, the book is published as Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable. She has also written several novels for adults under the pseudonym Stevie Morgan. Her title,The Promise, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenway Medal in 2015 for best illustrator.

(Bowker Author Biography)