This was a good little book that used geography to explain distance and units. Like many of the new nonfiction books, this one is full of colors, photographs, side notes, and text boxes. Comparing distances starts small with a stride measured in inches. The strides are used to measure a living room (feet). The living room is compared to a city block. This continues culminating with a trip around the equator in miles. The book ends with a simple quiz and an activity.

Like most modern books, this one contains a glossary, index, and further reading section. I was really hoping for a reference section showing where the author found the distances contained in the book like the lengths of the Pyrenees Mountain Range and the Ganges River.

I think this book could benefit from a better front cover photograph, a more exciting font, and illustrated title and end pages. There was no author’s note or information about the author. I am assuming she is more of a map person than a math person. She measures everything using the U.S. system of units and includes conversion factors. I think a mention of the metric system of measurement would make this a stronger book.

Another criterion I use to determine a good book is whether or not I, as a relatively educated adult, learn something. I not only learned about the northernmost part of Great Britain, John O’Groats, but I was also refreshed on the location of the Ganges River. ( )