A Global View

Recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have brought Earth science to the fore. Children want to know whether their area of the world can be affected, how these disasters happened, and whether they can be prevented. Some of the series below will help answer these questions, while others concentrate on imparting cartographic know-how and providing students with a better understanding of the workings of our world, from the micro-level of soil composition investigations to the vastly more macro mechanisms of human migration.

Gr 3-5–These overviews provide information on geologic and social history; exploration; tributaries; basins; current uses such as fishing, agriculture, and tourism; and environmental issues. In addition, each book discusses features that are unique to the waterway, such as, in Amazon, the river’s importance to the surrounding rain forest, and, in Ganges, the millennia-long use of the river as a sacred site. Each title includes an identical, full-page table, “Comparing the World’s Rivers.” The clearly written texts are accompanied by several useful maps per book and sidebars in the shape of the relevant country. Though the titles will be useful for reports, teachers and librarians will have to introduce them–many of the photos, unfortunately including those on the covers, are dull and grainy, meaning that children will not gravitate toward these sources.

Gr 3-6– Different Kinds describes how soil is different from dirt; layers, chemistry, and textures and types; and how the material is affected by climate, animals, and people. Micro Life discusses the various beings, from amoeba to larger living things such as slugs and fungi, that depend on soil, clearly explaining such concepts as symbiosis and the food cycle. Soil Erosion offers information on the many ways in which the process can occur, its dangers, and what can be done by children to stop it. The book also discusses positive effects of erosion. How Is Soil Made? is less useful than the other books because much of its content is covered in them, but overall this series enlivens a dry topic and provides solid basics on relevant subjects, complemented by quick and easy experiments and clear, well-captioned color photographs.

K-Gr 2–Since it covers both seasons and weather, this series is a better choice than ABDO’s similarly titled “Weather Watchers.” The format is the same as that of The Child’s World’s “Earth’s Continents,” with plainly written text opposite a full-page illustration on each spread. The books on the seasons explain when it is in relation to the others, what the weather is like then, plant stages at that time, and what animals are doing. While the books on weather employ easy explanations of scientific phenomenon such as the water cycle, and include a diagram as well as photographs where appropriate, it’s unfortunate that Clouds stops short of naming the different types of formation instead of simply describing them. Still, these introductions, like their sister series below, are attractive and will be a hit with curious youngsters.

Gr 1-3–These compelling but slightly flawed books build short narratives around data on various unenviable records. Coldest, for example, invites readers to imagine living in a freezer, briefly explains the reasons for the temperature of some places, and then gets to the meat of the books: seven spreads covering the world’s most frigid environs, such as Mount McKinley (whose exact location is unfortunately not provided); and Yakutsk, Russia, the world’s coldest city. The texts are supplemented by sometimes banal “Extreme Fact” sidebars; by world maps (which lack country borders) pinpointing the extreme places; and by large, clear photographs. Glossary words are defined on the page on which they are used, a helpful feature.

Gr 2-3–A few sentences per spread cover the location, formation, weather, animals, natural resources, peoples, and environmental concerns of famous places. The photograph-heavy books are so attractive that they qualify as coffee-table works for the elementary set. However, the information, while interesting as far as it goes, is incomplete. For example, Amazon River opens with a map of North and South America that doesn’t show the waterway. Instead, a star on it covers a big chunk of northern Brazil, ignoring the fact that the river also flows through Peru and Colombia, though this is stated in the text. Also, the narratives are repetitive, with Grand Canyon, for instance, stating that “The Grand Canyon is a huge canyon,” and going on to use the word “canyon” twice more in the next two sentences. These will be interesting to browsers but those seeking report information will have to look further afield.

Gr 3-5–Describing the mundane as well as the more extreme aspects of their phenomena, and including science and everyday experiences, these books include chapter spreads such as “The Water Cycle” and “What Is a Flood?” (Rain), and “Sleet and Hail” and “Cleaning Up” (Snow). Sidebars describe the “Unbelievable!” or add to the scientific discussion. Much of the information is repetitive and unnecessary. Children do not need a full page description of raingear, or a large photo of people waiting in an airport during a snowstorm. In addition, many of the photographs are unclear and/or washed out. The well-outlined activities included at the end of each title, such as making a windsock and measuring and charting temperature, help to rescue the presentations, but solid science-fair material is widely available outside of these weak offerings.

Gr 3-5–Facilitating students who are doing comparative studies, the spreads in these broad surveys investigate the same topics, including “Population and Health,” “Employment and Economy,” and “Environment and Wildlife,” providing statistics in textual and graphic form along the way. Since they are so succinct, the books will work best at supplementing more in-depth titles with little morsels of information. For example, in Germany, the country’s entire military history is explained as follows: “Germany fought and lost in both World War I and World War II,” but in the same book, children can find a “Did You Know?” bubble on the history of cuckoo clocks, and Brazil mentions the government’s failure to finish the Trans-Amazonian Highway. Large, bright photographs and short bursts of text make these titles accessible and attractive.

Gr 1-3–Children curious about dramatic weather, or those writing reports, will find what they need in Higgins’s succinct texts, though the same information is available elsewhere. Each opening spread places readers in the middle of the action. Thunderstorm, for example, invites them to imagine that “It’s afternoon, but the sky is very dark. Suddenly there’s a flash of light!” Successive chapters describe related science (sometimes accompanied by diagrams) and scientists, events, and a minimum of safety information. Sidebars drizzled throughout offer additional tips and facts. Tsunami is problematic. While it doesn’t mention death, it will be too alarming for this age group. The opening scenario describes playing on the beach directly before “…strange things start happening,” and later illustrations depict children running away from the ocean, and widespread destruction. The book also describes how a tsunami can pick up houses. In addition, the computer-generated cover and interior images in these books are distinctly ugly. Stick with other series that offer the same information in a package that will attract young readers.

K-Gr 2–While it is impossible to fully cover even the smallest country, let alone a continent, in 24 pages, these titles offer the right facts and images to stimulate the youngest armchair travelers and set them on the road to more detailed explorations. Each spread offers a page of narrative opposite a full-page illustration. The opening spread provides a world map with the continent highlighted and describes its size and location relative to the other continents. The books also discuss some prominent landforms and biomes and their animal inhabitants, and countries, cultures, and natural resources, in a large-print sentence or two each, opposite a clear color photograph. Some pages include “Say it!” pronunciation help, assisting readers with words additional to those covered in the glossaries. Attractive, useful introductions.

Gr 3-5–An important moment in the history of geology or a fictional child’s encounter with the world of rocks serves as a lively opener in these titles, and is followed by clear information on related science and scientists. Fossils is the best book, including as it does numerous close up, bright images of dinosaurs and other extinct creatures; explanations of the ways in which the rocks are formed; and a discussion of fossil fuels. Without mentioning political issues, the book debunks creationist arguments by explaining why there are gaps in the fossil record and the evidence that birds descended from reptiles. Soils is also useful, as it boasts better photographs of different soil types than are commonly seen in books of this type, including a particularly interesting photo of a series of soil horizons and a case study involving soil removal at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Gems, Minerals, and Ores are ripe for combining into one longer volume. The material is available elsewhere, and the images are pedestrian. All of the titles include a craft, such as creating a fossil or making metamorphic rocks, that involves bought materials and requires adult assistance (a fact that is mentioned as the first step in the instructions).

Gr 4-6–Students with a penchant for the extreme will relish the dangerous situations described in these fact-filled works, whose first-person accounts add nail-biting immediacy. The books describe some of the same threats as those covered in ABDO’s “Weather Watchers,” but here the pitch of the content and the appetite of the audience are a perfect match. While focusing on one survivor’s experiences before, during, and after events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and Chicago’s deadly 1995 heat wave, the books also relate the history of the event and similar disasters, and scientific cause and effect. While the authors don’t gloss over human suffering, including the poverty that exacerbated tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, they refrain from political commentary. Large, clear color photographs and effective scientific diagrams add to the successful presentations.

Gr 3-6–These works describe a type of city and then discuss a particular such place (Toronto in Residential, Los Angeles in Suburban, Houston in Industrial, and New York in Commercial) in detail. They concentrate on positive aspects of urban life and provide information on its geography that students may never have thought about–for example, that “A town with a lot of resources nearby can grow into a city” (Commercial). Chapter spreads include information on history, daily life, holidays, education, transportation, and local government, all accompanied by large color photographs. These titles will be useful for reports, and even children who live in the places in question will find something new.

Gr 4-7–These books survey the world, but, taken together, they add up to something more inviting to children than a traditional world atlas. Most of the spreads cover a region or one of the continent’s bigger countries and provide large, clear maps and columns of almanac data surrounded by short chapters on famous people, animals, industries, cities, sports, and more, all accompanied by color illustrations or photographs and informative sidebars. The last few spreads include “People and Beliefs,” “Climate and Vegetation,” “Ecology and Environment,” “Economy,” and “Politics and History,” allowing easy comparisons of the continents and exposing readers to map types that may be unfamiliar. Europe also offers a spread on the Atlantic Ocean, and South America includes a separate section on Antarctica. Unfortunately, the old-fashioned and somewhat unattractive covers will not draw children toward these works, but with guidance they will encounter some absorbing and informative material.

Gr 6-8–This valuable series discusses migration within and between countries and touches upon many reasons for, and aspects and effects of, it. Migration covers such topics as globalization, climate change, and the history of human dispersal. Among the chapters in Cultural Landscapes are some on “Cultural Superiority,” “Preservation, Protection, & Isolation,” and “Integration and Assimilation.” Since so much is covered, the texts can be a little choppy at times, and the many accompanying photos are sometimes superfluous, but the multiple perspectives offered make the books worthwhile purchases despite the minor problems.

Gr 6-9–These fascinating books open with an identical whirlwind time line of cartographic history, beginning with a map of the world as 15th-century Europeans knew it and ending with the first photos of Earth taken from space. Each title includes the same introduction to the series and a paragraph that explains the need for the type of maps under discussion, and how they are used and by whom. Map- and photograph-heavy spreads then discuss the history, purposes, and creation methods of various navigation aids, and provide some background on the places they depict. Related events and topics also spring up, such as discussions of the U.S. census and of gerrymandering in the “Elections and Maps” part of Government. The authors’ descriptions of cartographic challenges, old and new, result in a lot of valuable extras–the discussion in Cities of da Vinci’s revolutionary use, in urban maps, of outlines instead of pictures for buildings, for example, and of how modern, computer-aided cartographers can use previously undreamed-of ways of showing relative building heights. The books’ further-reading lists, which include print and Web materials, are particularly extensive. Wonderful resources.

The best series of this group are Bearport’s “Disaster Survivors” and Gareth Stevens’s “Understanding Maps of Our World.” Librarians should also consider selected volumes in Crabtree’s “Everybody Digs Soil” and “Investigating Human Migration and Settlement,” “Weather Watch” from The Child’s World, Capstone’s “Extreme Planet,” Rosen’s “Discover Countries,” and ABDO’s “Rock On!: A Look at Geology.” Children will also enjoy, but will have to be encouraged to try, Crabtree’s “Rivers Around the World” and Rosen’s “Atlases of the World.” Lastly, Creative Education’s “Big Outdoors,” Rosen’s “Weatherwise,” and ABDO’s “Weather Watchers” aren’t satisfying as assignment material, although “Big Outdoors” will work as recreational reading.