In easy-to-read text, “Countries of the World” offers young researchers basic information about countries worldwide. Each book covers the geography, weather, landscapes, animals, languages, foods, celebrations, and culture of a specific country. On each page, color photos and simple text bubbles pop against a colorful background. Overall, the books are visually appealing and simple for young readers. Each book contains a table of contents, index, glossary, further readings, and a list of facts that provide an overview of the country and its people. VERDICT An eye-catching series with an abundance of simple facts that will be a great resource for young readers.

The slender volumes in the Countries of the World series (8 new titles) offer brief introductions to nations. In each book, the coverage begins with a photo of a city or landscape as well as a world map indicating the country’s location. In short sentences (usually five to eight words), the large-type text comments on significant features, while the illustrations feature aspects of the land’s climate, terrain, and animals. After mentioning cultural aspects such as the people’s language, heritage, religion, food, music, festivals, and popular sports and games, the presentation concludes with a few fast facts (populations, capital, etc.) about the country and a picture of its flag. Brightly colored photos and design elements appear on every double-page spread, showing varied views of the land, the people, and their culture. Each book includes a photo of kids greeting the reader with their version of “Hello.” Dominican Republic offers glimpses of the country’s Carnaval celebration and students in a classroom: “Hola (OH-lah).” Short, colorful, upbeat introductions to countries.

This very easy series, featuring a few compact sentences per page and aimed at young students just starting to learn about the world, provides basic information, though probably not enough for rudimentary reports. However, students will get a glimpse of nations across the globe. Commendably, the volumes foster positive perspectives of the countries and develop respectful “they’re like me” viewpoints. Titles provide strong visual support, with high-quality, color (usually captioned) photos on every page, featuring landscapes, national foods, animals, and people frequently portraying children and families (often intergenerational), looking directly at readers and engaging in relatable activities. Main topics covered are: “All About” the featured country; “Land and Animals” (geography, weather, native wildlife with pictorial chart); and “Life in…” (residences/where citizens live, language(s) spoken, ancestry, religions(s), sports/recreational activities, foods-pictured, festivals/holidays, customs). New vocabulary is in bold and defined in the glossary (no pronunciation guidance); some unfamiliar words are defined through text or photos. Each book teaches how to say and pronounce “hello” in the nation’s language. The series is visually striking, with colorful covers and text printed against yellow, orange, or green backgrounds. Vol- umes include maps depicting nations’ exact locations and relative positions in the world. Sidebars provide helpful additional information. Besides the glossary, To Learn More (a bibliography of books and the publisher’s website), and an index, useful back matter material includes a country facts chart with information such as the country’s current census data, national holiday, national language, capital city, a notable citizen, and national flag; other charts depict the nation’s major religions, noting percent- ages of practitioners, and some major landmarks. VERDICT Recommended for school and public collections. Encourage students to practice saying “hello” in the different languages and/or to create the national flags to display in classrooms/libraries.