First Earth Encyclopedia

Gr 2–4—Aimed at younger readers with vague or unformed notions of what "geography" encompasses, this mind-expanding survey begins with our planet's physical features, from core to atmosphere. It then offers quick overviews of biomes and human geography, from the concept of a "country" to economics and environmental issues to the making and uses of maps. The balance between text and visuals—the latter a mix of small to midsize photos and equally sharp, bright, schematic digital images—is roughly equal on each single-topic spread. Minor tweaks in wording and page design aside, most sections are largely unchanged from the edition published in 2010, though statistics have been updated, a few pictures have been replaced with similar ones, at least one of the rare hands-on activities has been simplified, and the colors have generally been freshened up. The reference section at the end has been considerably expanded, with the addition of eight pages of review quizzes, including a geographical matching game.