Journey into Africa: A Nature Discovery Trip

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Knight invites children on a virtual guided safari to learn about a variety of fascinating plant and animal wildlife. Safety precautions and information on proper clothing and equipment are provided in order to have a positive experience. The journey is a stimulating visual feast of animal encounters on every page. Interesting tidbits about habitat and behavior accompany each color photograph. The text-informative, chatty, and dramatic-engages readers and piques the imagination. However, sweeping generalizations are grossly misleading, like the declaration, "Africa is no place for those who like to sleep in." There are no maps, and it is easy to come away with the impression that elephants, cheetahs, and giraffes roam across the entire continent. In actuality, such wildlife is found in specific regions of Southern and East Africa and omitting that point discounts the continent's immense diversity. It is further presumed that children know the location of their guided tour that begins on a plane ride near Victoria Falls across the Zambezi River, which is only described as "in the heart of Africa." The sensationalized slant is reinforced by the fact that the only humans shown are San hunters in loincloths poised with bows and arrows. A letdown.-Ajokei T. I. Kokodoko, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.