Pakistan; Jamaica

A very interesting new series suitable for Year 5 and up. The books follow exactly the same format. The country is introduced with a simple map, an inset map to show its place in the world and a fact box. Then the reader is introduced to one of the major cities in the country and a small rural community. There follow sections on Land and Climate, Home Life, At Work, Going to School, At Play and The Future and in each section a general spread is followed by two pages on each of the communities - thus in Pakistan at work in Lahore we learn about the large factories as well as the small workshops and a picture of a woman lab technician at a Cancer Hospital is set against a photo of two boys working in a motor cycle repair shop. In the village of Palak we learn about farming and local tradesmen such as the blacksmith and the cobbler.

The books set out to show the great variety of people and ways of life and promote an optimistic view whilst not hiding from some of the problems of the two countries. Plenty of top quality photos, illustrative quotes from residents and some useful statistics allied to an approachable text in good size print make these very attractive candidates for all primary and secondary school libraries.