A Child's Introduction to the World: Geography, Cultures, and People--From the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall of China

by Heather Alexander, Meredith Hamilton (Illustrator)

Overview

Explore all the fascinating things that make Planet Earth such an exciting place to live with this lively introduction to our world, its geography, culture, and people.
 
Get ready for an incredible journey, one in which you’ll visit far-off places, meet interesting people, and learn all about continents, countries, climates, and more. This book is also full of fun facts about animals, sports, foods, inventions, and holidays from all over the world.
 
Check out the largest oceans, highest mountains, and hottest deserts. Discover how the Grand Canyon was formed, how long it took to build the Great Wall of China, and how the Amazon River got its name. Meet brave explorers who risked their lives finding new places and, yes, learn how to locate dozens of countries on a map… and name their capitals!

With 150 charming, original watercolor illustrations, A Child's Introduction to the World is an entertaining and comprehensive overview of our fascinating planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781579128326
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/26/2010
Series:	A Child's Introduction Series
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	657,045
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Heather Alexander has written numerous books for children and young adults including previous titles in this series, A Child's Introduction to the World, A Child's Introduction to Greek Mythology, and A Child's Introduction to Art. She is a former book editor living in Los Angeles, CA.

Meredith Hamilton has illustration the previous eight books in the Child's Intro series. Her other illustration work includes apps for children, cookbooks, and Steuben glass. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Editorial Reviews

Globalization is integral to today's society, and everyone, children and adults, needs a better sense of geography, but this atlas with old-fashioned watercolor illustrations and painted maps that are difficult to read is not the best way for kids to learn. It includes tidbits of information about history, holidays, inventions and foods, but it lacks area and population figures. Children in the middle-elementary grades need clear maps and photos to gain a sense of reality about the world. Warm fuzzy feelings ("Nature has given our planet amazing landforms") and disparate fun facts have a place, but unfortunately this "introduction," with its pop-up globe and stickers (not seen, but they may be the best part of the package) does little to de-romanticize the world's cultures (in Ho Chi Minh City, "people ride bicycles instead of driving cars"). This oversimplified approach may work in other books in the A Child's Introduction to . . . series, but in this subject area, The National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers (2007) is a better choice for home, schools and public libraries. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews