Author: Marc Martin
Big Picture Press 2017
Hardcover, 40 Page Picture Book
This adventure book will take curious kids on an unexpected journey around the globe to 15 destinations to discover what makes each place unique.
LOTS is a busy book, with a great deal of detail on each page. There are interesting qualities featured about each location, with a plethora of quirky items at each destination. The book is large and well produced with colorful illustrations on each page that purports to introduce children to different cultures around the world. There is a frequent sense of humor evident with Godzilla being featured in Tokyo as an “official citizen with very bad breath.”
Though this book tries very hard to introduce different cultures, it simply offers most of the odd and strange things in each environment rather than something unique to the culture of the destination. The book is poorly organized, the illustrations very small, and the handwriting isn’t easy for kids to read. The culture of Tokyo, Japan consists of more than a half-page of vending machines, Godzilla, and bath-houses. With little actual writing as opposed to labeling, this book lacks substance compared to other busy books available. It reads more like a hipster artist sketchbook rather than a book of facts about the nature of other cultures.
Lots by Marc Martin gets 3 stars from this reviewer.