Cities and Towns

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Beginning with a look at the political divisions of the world, kids learn what constitutes a country. Activities include learning about the capital cities where endangered animals reside, the location of various natural resources, population distribution and terrain. The book does not really teach about countries because it is more of a worldview. Kids are asked questions that can be answered from the information in the books, and are offered other activities, some of which require independent research. (The answers are provided in the back of the books along with a glossary and index.) Part of the "Discovering Geography" series from Benchmark, which includes The World, Countries, States, Cities and Towns, Maps, and Measurements.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4Two books that give basic facts about maps and provide exercises in reading them. Cities offers practice in using simple street maps, a zoo map, shopping-center diagrams, and bus routes. Students are unlikely to gravitate to the activities on their own, and the book's small size and the nature of the exercises would make it difficult for a teacher to use with an entire class. Maps gives brief introductory information about the problems in making a flat map from a round Earth; identifies continents, hemispheres, latitude, and longitude; and shows maps of the ocean, moon, and photographs of the U.S.A. from space. Practice activities are primarily locating various places and planning routes. Directions are given for making a globe from a balloon and papier-mch. The maps are clear and most directions are self-explanatory, but some adult instruction and clarification are necessary. One direction is to go south and turn left but no information about orienting the map is given. The activities are fairly typical map-reading exercises. Both books have cartoon figures giving additional facts in dialogue balloons. Of curriculum use only, and limited at that.Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN