South America, Surprise!

From Booklist
Reviewed with April Pulley Sayre's G'Day Australia! Gr. 3-5. Sayre, an experienced writer of both science and social studies books, takes on the continents in this seven-volume Our Amazing Continents series. Although there isn't a great deal of information, what's here is presented with lots of verve. The format is attractive; main ideas are in large type, and the pictures, with very brief captions, are high quality. Some of the shots are quite riveting--an anteater investigating a termite hill--and they do a good job of visualizing Sayre's economical text, which offers a wide-angle perspective on a continent's topography and a few brief comments about cultural diversity and animal life. After explaining that Australia is a country that covers a continent, Sayre conducts an armchair traveler's tour from Tasmania to the Great Dividing Range and on to the Great Barrier Reef, noting interesting tidbits about the environment. South America is similarly organized, though a few of the photos are weak. Each volume has two helpful color maps, but unfortunately, there's no list of further resources, so kids can follow up on what Sayers introduces. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Card catalog description
Introduces the continent of South America, looking at its geography, plant and animal life, weather, and settlement by humans.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

Gr 2-4-Lavish illustrations do not compensate for the inconsistencies and inadequacies of content in this series. Each volume begins with the same textual description accompanying a continent-focused Earth photo and concludes with a map accompanied by the same text. The map key mixes terrain features (mountain, steppe) and climate attributes (mild, warm), which can confuse readers-young or old. Within each volume, there are inconsistencies in vocabulary level and the linkage of concepts, and inaccuracies. A headline reads: "Europe is the only continent that does not have any large hot deserts." This clearly ignores Antarctica, truly a continent "that does not have any large hot deserts." Some statements are pointless, such as the headline: "South America has many countries." Europe does not make the same claim, though it is a much smaller continent with more countries. The extensive photographs are not consistently linked to the text, and none of the books has pagination, a table of contents, or an index. Young readers would be better served by the "Continents in Close-Up" series (Raintree) and especially the "Continents" series (Heinemann Library).-Paul J. Bisnette, Silas Bronson Library, Waterbury, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices