Top 10 Snakes

Children's Literature - Kip Wilson

One of titles in the "Starting Geography" series, this book engages readers with colorful photos of maps themselves, as well as people using all kinds of maps to navigate. This series introduces young readers to geography, and this book offers a great way to see both the macro and micro in the world around them. The text works with the images on each spread to engage readers, taking them on a tour of what maps are, including how they are made and the components of maps such as symbols, the map's scale, and contour lines. The book also includes some great hands-on exercises that a teacher could lead in a classroom or assign as homework. Kids will love making their own maps of where they live and plans of friends' bedrooms. Instructions for playing several games and making 3D landscapes are also included. The layout is peppered with these activities and images across each spread, making for a lively read. The final spreads take readers on a hike, as they plan their path and then find their way in the outdoors. Glossary terms are marked in bold in the text and are well-defined in the back of the book for reference; a helpful index in the back of the book is also included. Overall, this book includes some great information for young readers who would like to be able to read a map and see how it relates to the world they live in. Reviewer: Kip Wilson

School Library Journal

Gr 2–4—These nondescript books are loosely grouped together in a series about geography. Each spread includes color photographs, text boxes, and a project/activity that reinforces the ideas discussed on those two pages. There is very little cohesion in any of the titles, as each spread is usually unrelated to the previous one. The projects are age appropriate for the most part, with many of them being basic games, charts, posters, etc. There is at least one time-consuming or difficult project per book. The glossaries appear somewhat arbitrary, with "architect" undefined, but "rot" defined. By the Sea discusses both natural and manmade features of our coastlines; it also contains the simplest activities. Homes briefly covers different types of homes, what they are made of, and why. Maps is probably the strongest title. It has solid definitions about cartographic terms (latitude, longitude, keys, symbols, scale, etc.) and concepts (using a compass, grids, etc.). It also flows more smoothly than the other volumes. These books are additional purchases, especially for libraries that have the extremely similar (if not identical) series published by Watts in 2009.—Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI