Who Is the World For?

by Tom Pow

"Who is the world for?" asks the baby bear in her winter cave and the lion cub on his grassy plain and the baby hippo in the slow brown river. All over the world - in deep roomy seas, on high, green trees, in ice and snow - baby animals ask their parents this question. In a house in the city, the boy asks his father too - receiving the same emphatic proclamation in reply, "The world is for you!"

Genres: Nature, Animals

30 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1900

About the author

Tom Pow is a Scottish poet, travel writer and teacher. He was born in Edinburgh in 1950. Several of his collections have won awards and three of his poetry collections have been short-listed for Scottish Book of the Year. Most recently, Dear Alice – Narratives of Madness (Salt Publishing) won the poetry category in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s Scottish Book Awards in 2009. He has also written young adult novels, picture books, radio plays and a travel book about Peru. In the Becoming, Selected and New Poems was published by Polygon in June 2009.

He has held various writing posts, including that of Scottish/Canadian Writing Fellow, based at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and Virtual Writer in Residence (Scotland’s first) for the Scottish Library Association’s Scottish Writers Project. He was the first ever Writer in Residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival from 2001 to 2003.


From 2000 to 2009, he worked for the University of Glasgow in Dumfries, latterly as Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Storytelling.

He is currently Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Glasgow University Dumfries and a part-time lecturer on Lancaster University’s distance learning Masters in Creative Writing.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pictorial book about different types of animals. In each case, about a parent and their young: bears, lions, hippos, whales, hares and owls. It is also about a boy and his father.

Whether on the plains of Africa or in the deepest ocean, worldwide, each youngster asks the same question, 'Who is the World for?' In every case the parent responds with their own view of the world, but they all ultimately finish with the same answer: ‘The World is for You’.

This delightful book with its watercolour pictures of life in its natural habitat, in natural colouring, portrays a caring parental role keeping their youngsters safe and warm.

Great book for discussion; it could be led in any direction. This would be ideal for PSHE, geography, art and literacy (especially drama and poetry). KS1 or KS2.

[Clare Sandley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book with detailed illustrations.

Throughout the book animals are witnessed asking their parents "Who is the World For?" to which they explain the simplicity of their own worlds, and state "The world is for you".

The ending was lovely, and I would love to read this to a class and explore the topics of our local community, the affect we have on the world, and all the beautiful animals that co-exist with us.

Overall a really nice and relaxing read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice picture book with realistic, serene illustrations of animals in their habitats. I liked the message of the book- the world is for you (animals, humans, and you personally).