Earth Matters. - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405365064 ISBN 13: 9781405365062

Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley), 2011

Synopsis

Discover all about our incredible world and how to look after it - now in paperback!Introduce your child to our planet in all its glory with inspiring foreword by eco adventurer David de Rothschild. From the deepest oceans to fiery deserts, tropical jungles to icy mountains, it lets you explore and get close to the places or 'biomes' that make our world so special. Read it together and you'll find out how life on Earth began, and see the effect humankind has had on the natural world. Amazing photographs taken from space show how the Earth is changing, and what each of us can do to help preserve its fragile wonder. From recycling our bottles to making space for nature, there are tips, ideas, and website links on all the practical, positive things your child can do to help ensure our Earth stays amazing for a very long time to come.

About this title

From Booklist:

Probably best used for browsing or in a family collection, this title is certainly not an “encyclopedia” of ecology as we usually think of an encyclopedia. It is, however, an attractive, fact-filled volume that may inspire young people to learn more about their earth. Following a 40-page introduction that touches on the the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, water consumption, and other topics, the book covers eight biomes. Polar regions, temperate forests, deserts, grasslands, tropical forests, mountains, freshwater, and oceans are described in 20–30 pages that presents facts about the ecosystem, specific organisms, modern problems (logging, warming tundra, controversial crops), and what young people can do to make a difference. Information is presented on exciting two-page spreads with maps, photographs, charts, and intriguing commentary, much like exhibits at a modern nature center. Every “Making a Difference” section has some doable suggestions (use a reusable water bottle) along with a few impractical or contradictory ones (“Walk to school whatever the weather” and “Take a mountain vacation,” but “Vacation without flying”). With no sources provided, it’s hard to know where some of the facts come from. (How was it figured that 18 gallons of water are needed to produce one apple?) The index is adequate, but it does not include plastic and several other items that are mentioned in the text. Upper-elementary through middle-school students and their teachers will find plenty of attractive pages here for browsing but will need to go elsewhere for much substance. Grades 3-8. --Susan Gooden

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5 Up—This environmentally friendly book is sure to appeal to students who will be drawn to the look and feel of the package in addition to the spectacular color photographs. The text is divided into sections corresponding to the Earth's regions: polar, temperate forests, deserts, grasslands, tropical forests, mountains, freshwater, and oceans. Maps locate the areas, and a scale guide based on average adult and child heights helps readers judge the size of the animals inhabiting the region under review. Page layouts vary, and there is a plethora of information presented in catchy, attention-grabbing ways. Web site references are offered on many pages, as are ideas for making a difference and helping to save the planet. The introduction offers the "big bang" theory as the explanation for Earth's creation. The author tells of his plan to sail a boat made entirely out of recycled plastic bottles from the United States to Australia to bring attention to the mass (the size of Texas) of plastic pieces floating in the Pacific. Facts like this are sure to bring lots of "wows" from readers. A first-rate addition to all collections.—Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
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About this edition

• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1405365064
• ISBN 13: 9781405365062
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256