Reviews of reference books--including encyclopedias, atlases, and dictionaries--for children and teens from School Library Journal.
Reference Review 02/01/2010
ANIMAL LIVES . 7 vols. illus. maps. photos. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. World Book . 2009. Tr $139. ISBN 978-0-7166-0401-3 . LC number unavailable. Gr 3–5—More a set of frequently asked questions for each animal group than a traditional encyclopedia, this colorful resource answers general queries about a variety of creatures in two-page chapters.
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Reference Review 12/01/2009
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARIES EDS. The American Heritage Children's Dictionary . 885p. diags. illus. maps. photos. glossary. CIP. Houghton . 2009. PLB $19.95. ISBN 978-0-547-21255-5 . LC 2009012324. Gr 3–6—A clean layout, quality illustrations, and notes on word histories, synonyms, vocabulary, and spelling—all features of earlier editions—have been retained in this e...
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Reference Review 10/01/2009
BERKSHIRE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHINA: MODERN AND HISTORIC VIEWS OF THE WORLD'S NEWEST AND OLDEST GLOBAL POWER . 5 vols. 2754p. charts. illus. maps. photos. reprods. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. Berkshire Pub. 2009. PLB $675. ISBN 978-0-9770159-4-8 . LC 2009007589. Gr 10 Up—More than 300 experts in diverse fields cover key aspects of the country's past and present in 800 concise ar...
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Reference Review 08/01/2009
ASANTE, Molefi Kete & Ama Mazama , eds. Encyclopedia of African Religion . 2 vols. 866p. charts. photos. reprods. appendix. bibliog. further reading. index. CIP. Sage . 2008. Tr $325. ISBN 978-1-4129-3636-1 . LC 2008027578. Gr 8 Up—This volume is significantly more comprehensive than the relevant sections of S.
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Reference Review 06/01/2009
ALDERTON, David , et al. Exploring the World of Aquatic Life . 6 vols. charts. diags. illus. photos. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Chelsea House . 2008. Tr $210. ISBN 978-1-60413-255-7 . LC 2008030416. Gr 4–8—With its colorful photos, pleasant drawings, and plentiful sidebars, this exploration of numerous freshwater and marine creatures is attractive.
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Reference Review 04/01/2009
ACUÑA, Rodolfo F. & Guadalupe Compeán , eds. Voices of the U.S. Latino Experience . 3 vols. 1128p. charts. chron. index. notes. Web sites. CIP. Greenwood . 2008. Tr $299.95. ISBN 978-0-313-34020-8 . LC 2007046170. Gr 9 Up—This set collects more than 400 primary- and secondary-source documents related to Latinos in the United States from 1648 to the present.
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Reference Review 02/01/2009
BRITANNICA'S STUDENT ATLAS . 132p. charts. diags. illus. maps. glossary. index. Encyclopaedia Britannica . 2009. Tr $29.95. ISBN 978-1-59339-841-5 . LC number unavailable. Gr 5–8—This colorful, well-organized atlas is designed to appeal to the Google generation. It adopts the clean, graphics-heavy look of a good Web site, right down to the tabs running across the top of each page, ...
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2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99.
Gr 1-5–A veteran of Noggin Channel and PBS Kids, Frezza created these eight exceptional rock ‘n roll songs for elementary grade children who are too old for Raffi, but not old enough for adult pop music.
Friends and colleagues of the late Effie Lee Morris may enjoy this photo of the children's librarian, which Nicholas Glass, founder and executive director of Teachingbooks.net, recently found on his computer. It was taken at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and features (from left) Ashley Bryan, Christopher Myers, and Morris, also an advocate for children's literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, who died of cancer on November 10, 2009.
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Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99. 
