Book Review: “My Very Own World Adventure” by Maia Haag

“My Very Own World Adventure” is a children’s book, personalized with the first and last name of your choosing.  I was actually expecting an age appropriate story with the name inserted throughout but the format is quite different.  There is enough of a storyline so that the pages flow but it’s more about the people and places that make up our world, as a non-fiction reader I really appreciated this approach and it’s something I can imagine my young nieces enjoying.

The majority of the book is made using one page per letter to spell out the name of the child. On the opposite page, that letter corresponds with the letter with a country or city within a country.  So “R” for Romania, “B” for Brazil, etc. There is a colorful, realistic illustration on each page of a child from the country being represented along with their name and a short blurb that they might say to whoever the book is personalized to.  In keeping with the theme, these blurbs relate to each country’s culture, history or agriculture so sweet dates are mentioned by Deema from Oman and a Faberge egg is highlighted on the “R” page for Russia.  The illustrations are fantastic and were contributed by artists from all over the world so there are slight variations in style which is nice.

Since it’s geared towards kids age 3-12 years old, the book carries a pretty simplistic message that even though the world and it’s cultures are quite different, as people we’re all very similar. The pictures and short blurbs will spark young imaginations and I personally think that anything encouraging interest in the world and travel is a good thing.  There is also a world map towards the end so the child can find the countries represented and in the very back, an encyclopedia of sorts that shows all of the countries that might be used to represent the alphabet with a little blurb about them.

The only thing I could imagine being a let-down is if a child has a particularly short first and last name since much of the length of the book is made up by spelling out each letter. Younger children will appreciate the colors and pictures but I think the book would still be interesting for older children who can read to themselves and are learning about the world map.  Overall, I really enjoyed how this book was set up and think the little ones in my life will too.

Disclaimer: A free copy of this book was given to the volunteer with the expectation that a fair and honest review would be written.