Gr 3–5—Ayo, a cartoon aardvark, guides readers through a number of cities, highlighting important landmarks, pronouncing city names, and defining new vocabulary. Fact boxes provide extra information but leave pages cluttered, as do photo insets. Each title evokes a sense of place, but the content isn't logically organized and the authors cover sites randomly. For some locales, the prose is overly detailed. In other instances, Ayo's descriptions don't excite—and students' attention may wane. Each volume concludes with a spread of labeled "postcards" depicting some of the locations visited on the "tour."
VERDICT Nonessential; individual titles could work as fodder for browsing, with St. Petersburg and Vancouver faring best. Older students will find Ayo a childish device.
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