Nonfiction Monday: The Most Fantastic Atlas of the Whole Wide World

The Most Fantastic Atlas of the Whole Wide World
By Simon Adams
Illustrated by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar
DK Publishing
ISBN: 9780756640095
$19.99
Grades 4 and Up
In Stores

*Recommended*

Just as an Oreo dipped in white fudge is more that just a cookie, The Most Fantastic Atlas of the Whole Wide World is more than your typical guide to geography. Continuing DK’s quest to make reference-y material entertaining, tiny characters (Warning: Precursor to a Possible 2009 Trend) called Brainwaves tour the continents, highlighting more facts than you can shake a stick at. It’s got the maps, but it also covers topics that most atlases don’t. A nice combination of readability and knowledge.

Gatefolds are the focus here. Each continent is featured, and then splits in two as the double gatefolds open to reveal more in-depth facts. On the spread in between each continent, the Brainwaves provide a closer look at various aspects of the earth, including climate, people, and earth’s surface.

Where’s Waldo fans will be happy. Not only are there swarms of Brainwaves per page, all doing different things, but there is a blue-clad ‘Wave that only appears once per two page spread. Looking for him ensures close inspection of each page.

Nice for browsing, The Most Fantastic… is not intended to be your go-to geography resource. Be sure you’ve got a straightforward atlas on hand before adding this one to the collection.

Upon first cover cracking, the amount of info can be overwhelming. In fact, I set this one aside for a while, not ready for the flood of facts. But sit down, give it a minute or two, and I’m venturin’ to guess that you’ll be happy you did.

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.

Filed under: *Best New Books*, Reviews