A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme

Beautiful crackle-varnished pictures (like an old, old world globe) set this playful and informative collection of travel verses apart. Author J. Patrick Lewis explores the world through unconventional poems and riddles, accompanied by illustrator Alison Jay's oil paintings, seen behind a delicate web of wiggly lines in antique-map shades of blue, tan, and green. The quirky verses feature exotic destinations, amazing explorers, and fascinating trivia about geography. (In "One Square Foot Per Person, Please," Lewis writes: "Did you know that all the people / in the world could stand shoulder / to shoulder in a space the size / of the Indonesian island of Bali? / And if they did? / How jolly!") Young readers who wonder why the Red Sea is red, where they can ride a bullet train, or what the difference is between latitude and longitude will get a mini education in this thoughtful and witty picture book. Lewis's previous titles include Doodle Dandies and A Book of Firsts, while Alison Jay's lovely illustrations can be found in Picture This and several others. (Ages 5 and older) --Emilie Coulter