Walter Simmons (1)

In my opinion, this is a fantastic book. I liked it for three reasons. First, the book offers organized tables that define vocabulary words that are highlighted in the text. As the book states, “There are fertile plains, high plateaus, and steep mountain ranges”, there is a table in the back of the book which lists and defines the words fertile and plateaus. The tables are presented in a clear manner in which the reader can easily understand and comprehend the information. Second, the book includes engaging textboxes with fun facts located on every page. As the book provides information about animals and wildlife in Thailand, there is a fun fact that states, “The Siamese cat is native to Thailand, which was once known as the Kingdom of Siam.” The information presented in these fun fact textboxes engages the reader and keeps him or her interested in finishing the book to read all of the facts. Third, the illustrations in the book enhance the story. There is a picture of a teacher dressed in a cultural garb speaking to four elementary school students sitting at their desks as the text states, “Thai children must go to school for nine years, starting at age 6. They go to elementary school for six years.” The picture helps support the text and gives the reader an understanding on what schools look like in Thailand. The reader sees the cultural differences and similarities within the picture and the text in order to develop an understanding of Thailand. Overall, the main idea of the book is for the reader to learn about the land, wildlife, school, holidays, culture, traditions, food, and facts about Thailand. The main goal is for younger reader to learn and appreciate the culture of this country in order to be more accepting of others from different lifestyles and backgrounds.… (más)

I liked this book. The text features really help the reader to understand the topic and the writing is clear and easy to understand. The text features were great. They have Fun Fact’s like “Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs for writing. These pictures stood for sounds, objects, and ideas” and close up pictures of animals for the reader to enjoy. Together with the text they make it easy for the reader to understand all the different aspects of Egypt. Graphs tell you visually the percentages of where people live and work. There writing itself is very clear and easy for a reader of any age to comprehend. “Over 80 million people live in Egypt. Most of them have ancestors who lived in ancient Egypt over 2,000 years ago.” The big idea is to inform the reader all about Egypt.… (más)