Lots of kids know the names of countries, and perhaps even their capitals. But what exactly is a country? How do you make one, and how do you run one when it is built? These are the questions veteran B.C. children’s author Valerie Wyatt is out to answer in How to Build Your Own Country, the latest in the Citizen Kid global-issues series of books.

Wyatt’s lively, joke-filled text, complemented by quirky illustrations from Fred Rix, lists all of the things you need to start a country (a chunk of land, a name, a constitution, people to live there), as well as what you will need to do to run it (set up a government, hold elections, establish a currency, make laws, etc.). Wyatt speaks directly to the reader about what this imaginary country will need to flourish: “So your citizens have elected a bunch of representatives, and they’re all milling around wanting staplers and parking lots. Why not put them to work governing the country?” As well, she provides real-life examples of how country-builders have succeeded or failed in the past.

How to Build Your Own Country will be a perfect resource for kids working on class projects, as well as an entertaining read on a subject that will interest any youngster who ever wondered what it would be like to be in charge of an entire nation.