Australia

Gr 6--8--A series about summarizing each of the seven continents. A table of contents shows each section is one-to-two pages in length with vocabulary words in bold. Colorful photos, sometimes with captions surround a few long paragraphs of text along with infographics. A broad overview of the continent is covered quickly: geography, land and climate, plants and animals, natural resources, tourism, industry, goods and services, Indigenous Peoples, exploration, settlers, population, politics and government, cultural groups, arts and entertainment, and sports and recreation. There is also a mapping activity and quiz for readers that connects to the text. The back matter includes a glossary and index. Although the content covers a lot of information in a short amount of time and does have sections devoted to cultural groups and Indigenous Peoples, it fails to mention much of the atrocities of colonization both past and present while also highlighting figures of early settlers and explorers. Brief sentences, like "Aboriginal Australians were pushed off their traditional lands," are not inaccurate, but are also not better explained for readers. VERDICT A broad overview about each continent for middle grade readers.