While You Are Sleeping: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Time Around the World    by Durga Bernhard Order:  USA  Can Charlesbridge, 2011 (2011) Hardcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Bob Walch Explaining to children how the different times zones around the world work can be a challenge. In this simple but clever lift-the-flap book, Durga Bernhard tackles the task in a manner that will help children ages five years of age and older understand that not everyone gets up or goes to bed at the same time. In fact, that's how the book begins. As a child and her mother are reading a bedtime story, on the other side of the world in Nigeria another little girl is getting up. Lift the flap and you'll see the child in native dress, with a clock showing the time. On the next page you see the Nigerian child carrying some food in her village at nine in the morning, while the flap says a boy in Japan is heading home with his friends because it is five in the afternoon. And so it goes. The next stop is Mexico, then India, Thailand, Haiti, England, Brazil and then back to Alaska where you started. Each time zone spread includes a map so you have a sense of where you are, plus it makes it clear what time it is in the area. Since the characters are all children they are decked out in native dress and engaged in chores or activities they would naturally be involved in in their countries. Hence, besides becoming aware of time zones, the child learns a little something about maps and cultural differences. Not an easy concept for even adults to always grasp, this book offers a starting point for understanding international time. If you are planning a trip to a foreign country with a child, this would be an excellent way of introducing the idea of time change. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews