Collins Children's World Atlas

Gr 4 Up—With its colorful cover, this atlas seems to be intended for younger readers, but its workmanlike content and reading level make it most appropriate for older elementary and middle school students. Each section focuses on a specific continent, and an index allows lookup by city. Within each section, spreads zoom in on specific areas, sometimes a country, sometimes a region. These divisions are heavily tilted toward Western geography; Europe is explored in 24 pages, and the continental United States in ten—the same number as the entire continent of Africa. Each country/region page features a political map showing major cities and bodies of water, surrounded by captioned color photos highlighting relevant landmarks and traditions. An appendix of "country indicators" features facts about the area, population, and a Human Development Index for each country, along with circular charts showing forest areas and other facts in a confusing visual format that tries to do too much at once. Additional.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD