A chattily didactic concept book builds its main point-"how two billion people have different ways of living and what makes every one of us important"- by drawing comparisons to its implied readers--white, middle-class young people in the U.S. Using direct address, engaging scenarios and many examples, the book explores similarities and differences related to language, names, eating, clothes, manners, and feelings among people of the world. The conversational tone laced with gentle humor most often works to delve beneath stereotypes, but illustrations of "others" typical of stereotypes of the 1950's reinforce the simple notions of differences the book aims to undercut.

Explains the origins of communication and languages and how customs and symbols mean different things to different people.