- Picture Books
- Ages 5–9
- Social History
Lots
A gorgeous, browseable world-tour picture book full of places, animals, food, buildings and visual detail. Excellent for curious children who like maps, travel, facts and spotting things in busy illustrations.
- Best for5–9
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Literary
Tone
- Whimsical
- Warm
- Adventurous
- Thought provoking
Themes
- Discovery
- Difference and diversity
- Nature and environment
- Community
- Creativity and imagination
- History and heritage
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Lots is a large-format visual journey through the world, moving from city to city and place to place with Marc Martin's characteristically dense, colourful illustration. Rather than telling a single story, it invites children to browse, compare and notice: what do people eat here, what animals live there, what buildings, streets, landscapes and objects make each place distinctive? The result is part travel book, part illustrated atlas, part visual miscellany. It is especially strong for children who like information but do not want a dry reference book. Adults will enjoy the design, texture and hand-lettered feel, while children can return to the spreads again and again to spot new details. It is a useful bridge between picture books, non-fiction, travel curiosity and design-led gift books.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 5–9
- Read aloud · 4–9
- Independent · 6–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- World cultures
- Travel
- Visual facts
- Beautiful illustrations
- Spotting book
Avoid if
- Wants single story arc
- Prefers sparse pages
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in art and creativity
- Interested in science
- Immigration or new country
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A gorgeously detailed tour of places around the world — a rich companion for geography topics and a feast for noticing and vocabulary.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the spotting — Marc Martin's large-format painted tour through city after city, food and animals and buildings and street life packed into every spread, plenty to find on the fifth read. The picture book for the kid who likes maps and atlases more than stories.
- Adventure and freedom
- Secret world
Why parents love it
The Marc Martin large-format world-tour — part travel book, part atlas, part visual miscellany, hand-lettered feel rewarding adults too. Useful bridge between picture books, non-fiction and design-led gift books.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Educational for adult too
- Conversation starter
- Indie gem discovery
About the author & illustrator
Marc Martin.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
When you buy through the links above, we may earn a small commission — it never costs you more, and it never changes the books we choose. How we’re funded →