South Africa the Culture (Lands, Peoples, and Cultures)
Grade 4-6–Taken together, these books boast the usual categories of social, geographic, cultural, and historical information.Culturehas sections on art, music, and language;Landincludes a more extended examination of animals and plants than is common in single-volume works at this level; andPeoplediscusses apartheid and some of the heroes who opposed it. There is significant repetition of background information among the volumes. In addition, they have a number of minor inaccuracies and typographical errors. Also, much of the information is couched in generalities and skims the surface of the topic. For example, the section on religion gives some basic information on a few of the major religions of South Africa, but there is little on specific beliefs or practices. These books are collections of facts that lack an exploration of a vibrant and complex society. The clear and bright illustrations have captions that are occasionally inaccurate and frequently fail to supplement the text.–Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York CityCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.