My First Atlas: Discovering Our World

K-Gr 2—At first glance, this atlas is enormously appealing, with a colorful graphic style and not too much text. The first section, "Our World," features a simple world map and basic information about climate, plants, and population. Next come the continent sections, each of which offers land and country maps and snippets of information about the climate, plants, animals, history and population, and customs of the area. An activity such as a quiz or maze and a folktale wrap up each section. Unfortunately, the information is simplified so much that it is scattershot and comes across as discrete factoids instead of giving readers a cohesive sense of each continent and its people. In addition, the text contains several typos that emphasize the slipshod production.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD