Synopsis
Which desert was once a soggy swamp?
Why is part of the Mojave Desert known as "Death Valley"?
Which desert contains a very salty sea?
The world has many deserts-some are hot and sandy, others are rocky or scrub deserts, one is even snowy and icy. Find out about the fascinating weather systems that have helped to shape these landforms, the many different animals and plants that make their homes here, and how some people manage to survive in these inhospitable places.
This series introduces you to the highest, longest, widest, and most unusual landforms in the world!
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5–These books open with a short overview of the landform and close with an outline of the environmental dangers to it. In between, a spread each describes the most (or, often, “one of the most”) extreme example of that feature. Entries consist of two short paragraphs of text; large, clear photographs; a sidebar of facts (some of the “That’s Amazing” listings are more tragic than amazing), and a small continent map with the place highlighted. While the color photographs are enjoyable, they do not always provide a sense of the feature. Coasts discusses the Curonian Spit, for example, but the photo shows dunes that could be on any coast. Some of the secondary features described are not shown; instead there are stock photos of something else. Also, it is not always clear why a landform is included. Explanations are overly brief and simplistic: Volcanoes provides nothing on plate tectonics, instead stating only that “Where there are cracks in Earth’s surface, the hot, liquid rock, called lava, can escape.” The opening explanation of the type of landform and the closing environmental information in these books can easily be found elsewhere. Finding the “Most Amazing” example of each formation will take a little more work, but the information provided in sources such as encyclopedias will be more thorough than that found here.