The Caribbean; The Landscape of St Lucia; The People of St Lucia

The Caribbean is such a physically beautiful region of the earth that it is difficult to produce illustrated nonfiction abotu it without making the books resemble meretricious travel brochures. These three examples are saturated from cover to cover with radiant pictures of visionary landscapes, smiling children, cornucopious produce, pristine beaches and shining seas. Stagnating monocrop economies, political interference from the bullying businessmen of America and Europe, ecological damage, a burgeoning drugs trade and declining employment are mentioned or at least hinted at in the clearly written texts, but such grim facts seem to swear at the beautiful (and accurately representative) photographs. Both authors present difficult issues plainly: 'Foreign companies build factories in St Lucia because they can pay low wages here' is typical of Brownlie's straightforward style. There are sufficient allusions in all of the books to such issues to provide ample discussion material for teachers seeking a critical approach.

The St Lucia books are aimed at a younger audience, and include mini case studies about individual lives. The Caribbean in the 'World Fact Files' series is heavier on statistics and contains a plethora of pie charts, graphs and histograms.