These books contain creative activities that readers can use to explore principles of weather and water environments. However, children may need prompting by a teacher or motivated adult in order to move beyond simply doing the activities and develop deeper scientific understandings. Though the design is crowded, bright color photographs and illustrations are helpful in visualizing the activities. Glos., ind.

BRASCH, Nicolas . Country Maps . ISBN 978-1-59920-414-7 . LC 2010049982. BRASCH, Nicolas . Land and Sea Maps . ISBN 978-1-59920-415-4 . LC 2010049983. BRASCH, Nicolas . World Maps . CIP. ISBN 978-1-59920-416-1 . LC 2010049984. ea vol: 32p. (Map Smart Series). illus. maps. photos. glossary. index. Smart Apple Media . 2012. PLB $27.10. Gr 2-6 A solid and predictable series. Country, Land , and World cover climate, natural resources, economic, physical, political, and road maps. Community covers street, public-transportation, land, building, and precinct maps. Each book includes a chapter about how the specific types of maps are created and one about reading them. Features, which may include a compass rose, grid, landmarks, latitude and longitude, scale, elevation and depth, colors, and symbols, are discussed. In every book, readers will find "Mapoleon," a cartoon character that provides additional "map smart" tidbits; an activity; and a quiz. Illustrations are numerous and the occasional full-color photograph works well with the texts. The writing is clear and informational but not terribly engaging; there is considerable overlap among the titles. That said, they are, nonetheless, solid choices to supplement and support the curriculum. Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL