Genre
Picture books for children
Illustration
Textured
Subject
Animals
Moles (Animals)
Size
Size perception
Voyages and travels
Character
Anthropomorphic
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In this story, little mole asks his father a question “how big is the world?” When his father tells him to go and find out, little mole does just that. He encounters many characters that help him answer the question. In the end he answers his own question, “as big as you want it to be.”
The first few responses to little mole’s question indicated that the world was only as far as each character’s individual world. The spider said it was only “as big as my web,” the mouse “as big as my field.” It is only in the middle of the book when little mole is taken for a ride by the seagull and the whale that he realizes the answer to his question.
The illustrations are lovely. They remind me of Steve Jenkins and Eric Carle with their vivid colors. ( )

The little asks around to other animals how big the world is. To each animal, their world is a different size. I like how it can show children that their world is as big as they want it to be and that it is good to have a home. ( )

Summary: This book is a beautiful tale about a young mole who asks his father how big the world is. His wise father replies by encouraging him to go and find out. So the little mole takes off on a journey asking many different animals how big the world is, each one replying with a limited vision of the world. He continues to do this until he has seen a great deal of the world and realizes that “the more you look... the more you will see.” The little mole decided that he missed his family and returns home. Upon his return, his father asks him how big the world is. His response is full of his newfound wisdom.
Teaching Implications: How Big is the World? is full of colorful illustrations that could be used to teach texture in illustrations. It also discusses an important concept of the world being more than meets the eye. The young mole learns a valuable lesson as he travels the world about how there is more than simply his small family and his surroundings. He encounters many animals that believe that the world ends with their limited vision of the world. In his travels, the mole realizes how many things there are to see, how many perspectives there are, and the world will only be as big as you allow it to be. This moral can be used in any grade when working with students to see beyond their ideas, opinions, life, and world. It could be used to jumpstart an inquiry unit where the students looked into other cultures and tried to really understand them and walk in their shoes. ( )