If This Were the World [Hardcover]

Recess is wholly transformed when Omeed holds up an orange and asks one question: "What if this were the world?"

Ms. Lee's class had come perilously close to running out of games, but the hunt for the best world gains steam right away. The orange is tasty, but too small to share. A dodgeball world can be punted to outer space by a mean older kid. A maple tree isn't portable enough.

Imaginations have never been so alive. But still no perfect world turns up, and the kids' search is leaving a trail of litter and destruction behind them. Maybe there really is only one world that ticks all the boxes, only one world where everyone fits and can get what they need. . . and maybe it's time to treat it a little better.

With a cast of big personalities and a hearty helping of witty banter, If This Were the World reads like the very best recess, with a well-earned nod to our planet and the work of protecting it.Dialogue-driven action from Barr (The Upside Down Hat) successfully captures the spirit of playground politics, while thick chromatic outlining and light shading imbue radiant, rainbow-hued colored-pen and -pencil drawings by Ford (I Love Your Face!) with a boisterousness that aptly conveys the energy of the crowd’s exploits.
—Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

The subtle message hiding in the creases of this philosophical tale encourages kids to remember and take good care of our actual world. . . ., Ford’s art is electric, the colors seeming to vibrate off the characters into the atmosphere. The small speech balloons that appear only add to the charm and humor. A truly original Earth Day book, certain to provoke laughter and discussion.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

If the message is overt, it’s been given an inlƒË