《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
Gr 6 Up-From their attractive covers, colorful illustrations, and large type, these books appear to be suitable for elementary school students. Among the eight topics covered in Asia are land and people, animals, and ways of life; Australia includes animals, industries, and rock paintings. Each spread gives a brief overview of the subject on one side, with a full-color photo and suggested Web sites on the other. However, many of the sites offer information more appropriate for students of high school or college age. For example, askasia.org has as one of its links the Army Area Handbook used by the military and State Department-a rather dry and detailed site that requires excellent reading skills. Some sites simply don't work and are sure to frustrate young readers. Typing in the lengthy National Geographic site brings only a basic and detailed map of Australia. Most libraries will have current atlases that will better serve students. The weather site reveals a "local" or "ski" outlook in the United States with no mention of Australia at all. Many sites resulted in "Not found" screens and the "library.thinkquest" had two big blank boxes followed by a third box with limited information on the Outback (the computer indicated "done" at this point). It is hard to recommend exercises in frustration to young people.-Alida F. Given, Fairhope Intermediate School, AL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.