Scholastic Atlas of the World

The world is an unfathomably big, amazing, and mysterious place. Sometimes, having a little context provides the ticket to understanding. Scholastic's Atlas of the World for children offers a unique approach to comprehending the world. Land area, time differences, life expectancy, car ownership, travel distances, and many other features of every country are compared to those of the United States. How does the length of the Indus River in Pakistan compare to the Mississippi, for example?

Did you know that people in the U.S. live, on average, to be 76--but Australians live to be 80, and citizens of Zambia have a life expectancy of only 37 years? American kids, especially, will benefit from this tremendously helpful tool. The atlas also provides more than 80 easy-to-read topographical maps, hundreds of striking color photographs, thousands of statistics, and essays on culture and geography.

In addition to the extensive index at the back of the book, each spread has its own "Search and Find" index with locators to help young readers find important cities on the maps. Color-coded continent tabs run along the top of every page, with the featured continent highlighted.

Fascinating world facts are presented in "Discover More" shaded boxes, while the nitty-gritty details of a region are revealed in the "Country facts" box (population, area, language, religion, and currency), "State facts," and "Continent facts." Readers of all ages will become knowledgeable citizens of the world with this bright, up-to-date resource. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter