ALA Booklist

Reviewed with Charles J. Shields' Belize .Gr. 5-7. These two volumes are part of the eight-book Discovering Central America series. Central America looks at the region as a whole, briefly reviewing geography and history and providing a glimpse of the area's peoples and cultures. Belize uses a similar approach within the focus of a single country, as do other volumes, which present facts and figures on Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The books feature color photos and appended material including maps, recipes, a glossary, a chronology, and ideas for projects or reports. Tailored for the quick research needs of students, the titles present their information smoothly and in well-organized fashion.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Useful for reports but less than scintillating in writing style, these books provide lots of information about Central America. Main texts focusing on history, geography, and people are supplemented with maps, sidebars, photos, recipes (geared toward experienced cooks), events listings, report ideas, and organizations to contact. There are four other spring 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

SHIELDS, Charles J. Central America Facts and Figures ISBN 978-1-4222-0645-4 . LC 200-8031992. SHIELDS, Charles J. Costa Rica ISBN 978-1-4222-0646-1 . LC 2008031993. ea vol: 64p. (Central America Today Series). maps. photos. chron. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Mason Crest 2009. Tr $21.95. Gr 4-6 The volumes on individual countries cover the historical, geographic, ethnic, political, and economic aspects adequately, and Central America briefly introduces the countries in the isthmus. The books conclude with recipes, project and report ideas, and brief chronologies. Belize and Costa Rica contain maps of the relevant nation and portions of bordering ones, but there is no map showing their location relative to the rest of the region. Even more surprising, Central America has only maps of the individual countries. Also, the books are nearly word-for-word reissues of titles in the publishers Discovering Central America series (2003), with only the statistical and political leadership information updated. Some of the color photographs appear dated. The recipes make no note of adult supervision/assistance (definitely required for some of the preparation steps), and the vocabulary and assumed culinary expertise are beyond the targeted age group. The activities (most of which consist of making flash cards and writing book reports) vary; some are too difficult while others are simplistic. The further-reading resources are almost exclusively for adults. Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI