Schuetz, Kari. Venezuela.

Schuetz, Kari.  Venezuela.    Scholastic/Grolier  32p  $17.00  978-0531-120-686-7   elem  Series: Exploring Countries (Scholastic)      VG-BNes          

is a good introduction to the geography and daily life of Venezuela for the young child, grades 2-6.  The map on page 4 corresponds beautifully with the description of the country on page 5 (the facing page), and there is a freshness and attractiveness to the layout, font and illustrations that will make youngsters want to go and visit the country themselves.  There is no mention of politics, government, or history, which perhaps is fitting in a book written for such young children.  New words and phrases are presented in bold face and then defined in the glossary at the back of the book.  The index, glossary, and list of references for further information are done well.

This series, Exploring Countries, is part of a larger series called Blastoff! Readers.  All the books in Exploring Countries are written at Level 5, defined as “fluent” for fairly strong readers at the elementary level.                                            --Carol Kennedy