The books in this series offer brief information about India's and Pakistan's geography, history, and culture. Both do a fairly good job compressing years of history and current political issues into short chapters, but the texts therefore read more like encyclopedia entries due to the amount of information the books attempt to cover. Directory, reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Countries and Cultures titles: India and Pakistan.]

Gr 3-7-The land, history, and cultures of India and Pakistan are explored in these series entries. Clear, simple maps; short lists of "fast facts"; and sidebars featuring native recipes, simple phrases, and currency are scattered throughout the chapters. Both books refer readers to a single Web page titled "Fact Hound," which provides links to a number of sites about each country. Good-quality, colorful photographs and graphics appear on nearly every spread. These volumes are considerably shorter than those in the popular "Enchantment of the World" series (Children's) and are written in a stilted, overly formal style, with important details being sacrificed in order to pack in as much information as possible. Even so, they are serviceable additions for libraries that strive to meet the needs of a diverse population of students.-Sue Morgan, Tom Kitayama Elementary School, Union City, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.