All in a Day (by Mitsumasa Anno)

This braided tale of a day on Earth is good fun, but not easy fun. Keeping track of all the strands demands attention. Fortunately, even if you confuse a story or two, the artwork will keep you rapt, and the notion of humankind sharing the planet shines right through.

The artwork is just terrific, for both its quality and its diversity. Oils, pen-and-ink, colored pencils, collage -- a wealth of media is used to very special effect, one that unites while observing and saluting our differences. The artists have endeavored to illustrate special cultural aspects of their countries. The accompanying story of the boy shipwrecked on an island gets lost in the welter of imagery, and readers may wish they had more from the pen of Mitsumasa Anno.