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Overview
Visit a diverse land where lush landscapes hide mysterious lost cities.Learn of the struggle for Colombia’s soul as cocaine cartels, guerrillas, and the forces of law and order battle for dominance. Explore a South American country bordered by five countries and two seas. Experience Colombia’s cultural flavor—a rich brew of Spanish, indigenous, and African influence.Synopsis
Visit a diverse land where lush landscapes hide mysterious lost cities.Learn of the struggle for Colombia’s soul as cocaine cartels, guerrillas, and the forces of law and order battle for dominance. Explore a South American country bordered by five countries and two seas. Experience Colombia’s cultural flavor—a rich brew of Spanish, indigenous, and African influence.
Children's Literature
Kids planning reports will welcome this "Countries of the World" series with its abundance of information packed into an appealing format illustrated by the lively and well-reproduced color photos one would expect from National Geographic. Five sections cover geography, nature, history, people and culture, and government and economy, each highlighted by an appropriate map and sidebars with interesting, offbeat details. In Colombia, writers can learn about the country's mountain ranges, grasslands, fertile valleys and two seacoasts. Colombia's fascinating wildlife includes huge-eyed night monkeys, gorgeous orchids, bright red frogs and the rare Orinoco crocodile, while the history section whisks readers through the centuries with pre-Colombian Indians, Spanish conquerors, Simon Bolivar and battling Liberals and Conservatives. Though the Colombian people have long suffered from drug violence, kidnappings and rural poverty, they manage to enjoy soccer, bicycle racing, food—empanadas and bunuelos—and dancing to music of the cumbia and the vallenato; writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez enchants with his magical realism. After a brief look at recent governmental reforms, U.S. aid and the country's rich resources (the author believes Colombia's future is "positive"), kids will appreciate the extra features: a useful bibliography of books, inviting websites and National Geographic articles as well as some super suggestions for ways to add zest to a report on Colombia. The final end papers reveal a timeline of Colombian history. This attractive series will be fun for browsers and offer a motivating push for reluctant report writers. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft