Reviews+

The Smithsonian Libraries has launched three courses of selected content on iTunes U about early aviation and space history. More courses will be rolled out during the first half of 2014, including one on "Women in Aviation."

Grade level Gr 9 Up...

Gr 9 Up—High-quality black-and-white maps and a short chapter on each of the causes and the consequences of the conflict open this concise but thorough work...

Gr 9 Up—More than 2,500 beings and species of the fairy ilk are described in this comprehensive tome...

Gr 4–6—An expanded index and the introduction of color illustrations boost both the user appeal and the usability of this resource...

Gr 9 Up—This comprehensive work offers more than 300 entries on modern and historical sports and seeks to provide a global overview of such activities...

Gr 5–8—Though it is billed as an encyclopedia of animals, this title actually focuses on families of animals rather than individual species...

Gr 5–8—With the laudable goal of providing "maximum knowledge with minimum effort on the part of the reader," Dulberger presents approximately 175 infographic bar charts that compare the 50 states according to a vast array of areas from demographics, health, and lifestyle characteristics to natural resources and Federal aid...

Gr 7 Up—Grouping topics around five biomes (marine/oceanic, inland aquatic, desert, forest, and grassland/tundra/human), this set offers 35 signed overviews on subtopics relevant to the various areas, and 500 two- to four-page signed essays on specific locations or ecosystems such as the Everglades, the Kalahari Desert, or the Mid-Pacific Gyre (the "Trash Vortex," where mostly plastic debris is trapped by circular oceanic currents)...