By the Sea

Product Description "Describes the geography of coastal areas, the impact humans have on them, and conservation of these areas. Includes hands-on activities"--Provided by publisher. From School Library Journal Gr 2-4–These nondescript books are loosely grouped together in a series about geography. Each spread includes color photographs, text boxes, and a project/activity that reinforces the ideas discussed on those two pages. There is very little cohesion in any of the titles, as each spread is usually unrelated to the previous one. The projects are age appropriate for the most part, with many of them being basic games, charts, posters, etc. There is at least one time-consuming or difficult project per book. The glossaries appear somewhat arbitrary, with “architect” undefined, but “rot” defined. By the Sea discusses both natural and manmade features of our coastlines; it also contains the simplest activities. Homes briefly covers different types of homes, what they are made of, and why. Maps is probably the strongest title. It has solid definitions about cartographic terms (latitude, longitude, keys, symbols, scale, etc.) and concepts (using a compass, grids, etc.). It also flows more smoothly than the other volumes. These books are additional purchases, especially for libraries that have the extremely similar (if not identical) series published by Watts in 2009.–Lisa Crandall, formerly at Capital Area District Library, Holt, MIα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.