Venezuela

Summary
This easy reader introduces the young child to the geography and daily life of Venezuela.

Critical Annotation This is a good introduction for the young child, grades 2-6, focusing on the geography and daily life of Venezuela. The map on page 4 corresponds beautifully with the description of the country on the page 5 (the facing page), and there is a freshness and attractiveness to the layout, font and illustrations that will make youngsters want to go and visit the country themselves. There is no mention of politics, government, or history, which perhaps is fitting in a book written for such young children. New words and phrases are presented in bold face and then defined in the glossary at the back of the book. The index, glossary, and references for further information are done well. Series Comments This series, Exploring Countries, is part of a larger series called Blastoff! Readers. All the books in Exploring Countries are written at Level 5, defined as “fluent” for fairly strong readers at the elementary level. Recommendations Recommended for collections serving upper elementary and hi-lo middle-school students.