Buddhism (Religions of the World)

Anita Ganeri is an award-winning author of information books for children. Educated at Cambridge University, she has written more than 300 books, including the best-selling 'Horrible Geography' series (Scholastic Children's Books) which won a 2009 Blue Peter Book Award. She writes widely on animals and the natural world. A recent title for Raintree, A Day in the Life of Rainforest Animals: Capybara, has been shortlisted for a Maryland Blue Crab Award 2012. Anita lives in the north of England with her husband, children and assorted pets.

Grade 4-7-Informative if occasionally disjointed, these two books both overlap with and contain different material from titles in the "What Do We Know about-?" series (Peter Bedrick) and the "Beliefs and Cultures" series (Children's, 1996; o.p.). Both titles include historical background ranging from the religions' beginnings to the present, information on basic beliefs and practices, and overviews of both the core ethnic groups from which the religions sprang and the various other groups into which both faiths have spread. There are multiple illustrations per page in the now-familiar "Eyewitness" style (DK), which provides a great deal of visual support for the text, while necessarily limiting the size of the art. In both presentations, the point of view is that of a believer, especially in regard to the founding of each religion: occurrences that might be considered legendary or miraculous by outsiders are presented straightforwardly. Each thematic chapter features a general introductory paragraph accompanied by shorter paragraphs on various aspects of the theme, which will be useful for reports, while browsers can simply skip around as their interest is caught by one item or another. Libraries needing books on Buddhism and Islam will be well served by these titles, which are useful and attractive if not essential. Books in the "Beliefs and Cultures" series contain less information, but have the advantage of providing activities for home or classroom.
Coop Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX
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