Personal Computers

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4Excellent introductions to topical subjects. Large type with plenty of white space, clear explanations, and (for the most part) well-chosen color photographs make the books accessible to young readers. Although there is a glut of titles available about the World Wide Web, few are aimed at this audience. Brimner focuses solely on the Web and explains terms such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol, Internet service providers, hyperlinks, HTML coding, URLs, search engines, bookmarks, and safe surfing. Interesting URLs (or addresses) for Web sites are sprinkled throughout, but are unrelated to the chapters in which they appear. Kerry Cochrane's The Internet (Watts, 1995) is on a slightly higher level and contains far more information. Personal Computers is a basic history of computers from the room-sized ENIAC to today's laptops. Without going into depth in any one area, it gives a well-rounded overview covering the essentials of computer hardware, software, and peripherals.Yapha Nussbaum Mason, Brentwood Lower School, Los Angeles