My First Britannica (Chinese Edition)

The 12 main volumes of this work are designed to engage children ages 7 to 11 who are interested in developing their background knowledge on broad topics like technology, people and culture, places, and science. Each volume is devoted to a specific area of study, for example, The Arts, People in History, and mammals. Entire volumes are devoted to Africa, the Americas, and Europe, but Asia, Australia, and New Zealand share a single volume. Coverage is representative rather then comprehensive. For example, the ""Literature"" section in The Arts volume has entries for nine writers, among them Basho, Emily Dickinson, and Wole Soyinka. The style is chatty and informative, and the 525 topical articles are longer than those in many introductory encyclopedias. Each article in each approximately 100-page volume covers two pages, one page of text and one large, generally attractive color illustration or photograph. The ""Search Light"" feature contained in each article helps focus the user's attention on an important fact, and the ""Learn More"" feature provides access to information on the topic in other volumes. Each volume has its own table of contents and glossary, and some volumes contain stories as well as articles. Volume 5, Folklore and Religions, has the added bonus of stories from sources as varied as the Kalilah wa Dimnah, Korea, Australia, and Nigeria, and Inuit, Cherokee, Mayan, and ancient Greek cultures, but it does not contain any source notes. Volume 13 offers maps and a glossary as well as an integrated index. Essentially this work is designed for browsing and not arranged for library reference. Its thematic arrangement makes it difficult to find those quick answers one normally associates with reference work. Nevertheless, it does contain information that would be useful to young readers. Public and school libraries with large collections may want to purchase this for their circulating collections. For the same audience, the alphabetically arranged Grolier Student Encyclopedia [RBB My 15 04] offers a more encyclopedic treatment. Dona Helmer Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.