Simmons, Walter. Morocco.

Simmons, Walter.  Morocco.  Scholastic/Grolier  32p   $25.00  978-0531-120-695-9    elem  Series: Exploring Countries (Scholastic)      VG-BN

This book provides an overview of Morocco, its customs, culture, and geography.  Colorful, crisp photographs show the wildlife, activities of young people, and places and things Morocco is known for.  Grades 3-8.

This book is an excellent starting place for informing young people about what it is like to live in Morocco and what to expect if one should  travel there.  Major attractions are shown in vibrant color photographs.  There is a short dictionary containing several Moroccan words with their pronunciation and English translations.  Fun facts and graphs draw the eye to quick facts on many pages.  Words that may be unfamiliar to students are  highlighted in bold print with definitions given in the glossary.  At the end of the book, two pages provide the basic facts about the country, including a photo of the flag, the size of the country, the major cities, currency information, major industries, religions and the primary products made in the country.  A further reading section as well as index complete the book.  This is a fine addition to library collections and suitable for social studies and geography projects.  While the publisher indicates the book is aimed at grades 3-5, this book is also suitable for middle-school students up to Grade 8.

The series Blastoff Readers: Exploring Countries provides basic overviews of numerous countries accompanied by vibrant, crisp photographs that show the wildlife, activities of young people, places and things to see when visiting each country.                                     --Lois McNicol