The mighty Mississippi

Gr 1-2-This easy reader provides a pleasantly paced overview of the parameters of the Mississippi River and a history of the boats used to navigate its waters. While the text provides the proper names of the lakes and mountains, readers find out only that the Mississippi River came from "an Indian word, mesipi." Since there is no one Native American language, it's unfortunate that the information isn't more specific. Wallace's simple color illustrations provide detail, e.g., showing readers what a keelboat or a flatboat looked like. Despite its shortcomings, this book presents a quick and accessible look at an often-studied topic.-Farida S. Dowler, Mercer Island Library, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

For children gaining confidence in reading, the stories of the presidential heads on Mount Rushmore and of America's most famous river--the Mississippi--will be enjoyable reading that might make kids want to visit these landmarks. Bauer's writing is succinct, factual, and interesting--especially with the support of Wallace's simple, unfussy illustrations. Additional information is included at the end of each text. [Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Wonders of America titles: The Mighty Mississippi and Mount Rushmore.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.