ATLAS OF THE WORLD

Gr 8 Up—Available only in a print version but updated annually, this large-format resource continues to earn pride of place on the atlas case's top shelf for its combination of currency and eye-widening graphics. The physical, political, and country and regional maps that make up the volume's core are works of art-brilliantly designed for easy comprehension, rendered in bright colors and sharp detail, and impossible to resist poring over. An immense index and a detailed gazetteer take up nearly half of the page count. Distinctive additional features include an array of satellite images, more than 50 (simplified) city street maps, a survey article titled "Will the World Run Out of Food?" and about two dozen maps related to climate, natural resources, population, and trade, not to mention star charts and a tour of the solar system. There were no major changes in the world since the 18th edition, but new material includes fresh statistical information; updated flags for two African countries; changes to the selections of city maps and satellite photos; and, in the maps themselves, the additions of significant buildings, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and new roads and railways. Atlases are among the quickest reference sources to age, so for classroom or library collections in which students search in vain for information about, for instance, South Sudan or even Kosovo, this makes a first-rate replacement.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City