The Kingfisher Geography Encyclopedia (Kingfisher Encyclopedias)
Grade 4-8-An attractive overview of each country, continent by continent. The arrangement is logical and the format accessible. An introductory section is devoted to the physical Earth. It covers topics such as its formation, continental drift, earthquakes, volcanoes, landscaping by the elements, weather, population growth, and the environment. A spread about the future discusses the greenhouse effect, deforestation, and desertification. This section concludes with lists of data on the longest rivers, largest islands, highest mountains, and most populated cities and countries. Throughout the volume, striking color photographs and informative captions highlight the uniqueness of each locale. Still, despite the visual appeal, the cursory treatment of most countries renders this offering most suitable for browsing. The majority of the entries are confined to a page or less, including maps, photos, and generous spacing. Each listing includes a small computer-generated country map, a boxed map highlighting regional context, a reproduction of the flag, and a sidebar of fast facts. There is little information about people and how they live. The final ready-reference section employs colorful bar graphs reflecting world biomes, extinction, life expectancy, and literacy, among other topics. While not particularly useful for reports, this title is likely to inspire further research.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public SchoolsCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.