Color photographs. Brief, concise explorations of two of Earth's important ecosystems - oceans and deserts - made more understandable by a combination of crisp photographs and clear graphs, diagrams, and maps. Visually stunning, exceptionally well-designed resources. Indexes.

Gr 3-5-- Excellent introductory titles. Simon presents clear, simplified explanations of natural phenomena with well-chosen full-color photographs that go beyond decoration, becoming integral parts of the texts. Spectacular photos of the deserts of the American southwest are used to show the various features from rippling sand, to wind-eroded rock formations, to the sparse vegetation characteristic of the area. There is a little information on how both plant and animal life have adapted to the harsh climate, and on the wonderful public lands such as Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, etc. The maps on the endpapers show the major deserts (except for Antarctica), but the rest of the world's desert areas, while occasionally mentioned in the discussion, are not represented in the photo selections. In the second book, Simon explores the magnitude of the oceans and their impact on the Earth's climate. He includes good black-and-white diagrams of how tides work and how waves form and transfer energy. The endpapers are maps of the world showing how and where the major currents flow. --Rosanne Cerny, Queens Borough Public Library, NY