DEAR FRIEND:

We wish that, instead of writing to you about many peoples and lands, we might take you to see them, for in that way you would learn more than we could tell you in many books. Of course, our wish is in vain. We think, however, that we can help you imagine much of what you would see if you were to visit various peoples in their homelands. As we take you on these imaginary visits, we shall try to help you see why people work and play and live in dijerent lands in the ways they do.

We have suggested many things for you to think about and to do. We believe they will help you learn more from these visits and enjoy them better. Some of these things are play, and others are work, but we think you will like to do both.

Perhaps, even before reading this message, you have looked at some of the pictures in this book. If so, did you discover that there are no titles under them? Suppose you really were traveling through farm lands. There would not be signs in the fields, for example, telling you what was growing there. If you could not tell just from looking at the fields what you wanted to know about them, you might ask questions of the people who lived near by. You can look at the pictures in the book just as you would look at real fields. When you want to ask questions about things you see in the pictures and do not understand, ask them of your book, and try to find the answers as you read. In it we have told you something about each of the pictures.

We do not promise, however, to answer in this book all the questions that may come to your mind as you read the stories and think about them, for the more you learn about why people work and play and live as they do in different parts of the world, the more new things you will find to ask questions about. The world is very large indeed and there are many kinds of people in it. You might spend your whole life traveling from country to country to find why the people in each land live as they do, and yet not learn all there is to know about it. This book does not tell you about all peoples and all lands, but it does tell you about some of them, and it will be followed by books in which many others are described.

Remember that learning the geography of any part of the world means learning how the people there have made or can make their work and play and their ways of living fit the kind of country in which they live. In learning these things you will make many interesting discoveries. We hope you will enjoy making such discoveries as much as we do. If so, there is much fun ahead for you, and it will begin with the very first story.

Sincerely yours,


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Journeys Chapter 1