News Reader.info

Originally, Gabriele Galimberti was just going to photograph a girl who happened to be playing with her toys. But once the photographer laid the four-year-old's colorful plastic farm tools

around her, he saw potential. "Immediately," he says in his book's introduction, "there was something about the composition I liked."

Thus began a 30-month, 58-country tour photographing children and their favorite toys. The resulting book, Toy Stories: Photos of Children from Around the World and Their Favorite Things,

published by Abrams Image, reveals a great deal about the world's diverse socio-economic realties through an incredibly simple and inclusive subject. After all, who among us didn't have a

beloved plaything — or ten — growing up?

Here, a selection of Galimberti's sweet and fascinating photos.

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and

Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.