Inside the Earth

Children's Literature

World Almanac( has produced an excellent collection in the "21st Century Science" series. This volume regarding the birth and development of the earth over the centuries allows the early or reluctant reader to learn about the earth's geology and physical development. The format of the book is a combination of photographs, illustrations and graphics with text woven throughout. What makes this book great for the classroom is its presentation of information in understandable bites. Not only do the writers describe how the earth was formed, but they also provide current information about the forces that continue to reshape and change our physical world. Volcanism, earthquakes and plate tectonics are just a few of the areas touched on in this book. The numerous timelines and different representations of Earth's history provide variation without being too complex. Overall, this is a highly recommended book. 2001, World Almanac Library, $29.27. Ages 6 to 14. Reviewer: John D. Orsborn

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-In each of these densely informative surveys, short lists, numbered keys, and explanatory captions surround hundreds of small, computer-generated images. Readers are barraged with data; plate tectonics, for example, are introduced in Inside the Earth with a map of the 13 plates, along with their names and arrows to indicate their directions of drift, a cutaway of the globe to show zones and currents in the mantle layer, six views of landforms various kinds of plate encounters engender, two blocks of general text, and eight captions-all on one spread. Both volumes are arranged into single-topic spreads, and though they cover similar areas, there is surprisingly little overlap; Earth deals with our planet's origins, structure, larger surface features, and water, leaving the work of erosion on the landscape, cartography, and each continent's physical geography to Planet. Both finish up with brief but current lists of books, videos, and Web sites. Despite colors that are sometimes so bright that superimposed text or directional lines are hard to make out, and occasional misstatements (the Dead Sea is not "the lowest place in the world"), students looking for quick overviews of a range of topics related to the Earth's physical history will find these helpful, and the emphasis on visual presentation of information adds a dimension to more conventional studies, such as Roy Gallant's Earth (Marshall Cavendish, 1998).-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.