Japan Eow2 (Enchantment of the World, Second)
Grade 2-4?Serviceable titles for young report writers. The print is large and the information is up-to-date. Basic overviews are provided of of each country?geography, lifestyles, history, economy (including major crops, minerals, and manufactured goods), and arts and culture. Simple maps suitable for tracing are included. One might question the size of the Mexico City metropolitan area or the information on China's Great Wall, but these are minor quibbles. Coverage of Chinese history is very selective, the focus generally being on the later dynasties?the Mongols with Kublai Khan, the Ming, and the Manchu?and, of course, the Communists. In Japan, some subjects, such as history and the description of written Japanese language, suffer from the brevity of the coverage. Early rulers are described as coming from the Yamato region, but this area is not shown. Also, ruling families, such as the Yamato and Tokugawa, should not be pluralized by adding "s." Each spread usually has one-to-three full-color photographs and/or reproductions. The layouts are lackluster; pictures are often overlapped, with no clear differentiation between them. The appendix includes a very short glossary (six-to-eight words), some organizations to contact, and a listing of online sites. The last, unfortunately, are generally out-of-date or age inappropriate.?Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.