Zoom In, Zoom Out

May 30, 2011
In this panoramic book that ushers readers through assorted topics in the realms of science, culture, and history, photographic spreads are connected by "zoom in" and "zoom out" frames that act like digital camera lenses. Thus a spread about fossils becomes a mere inset of the following spread discussing erosion, which is itself an inset of a subsequent spread about coasts, and so on. Sidebars point to specific aspects of each image and include concise captions ("China's fertile river plains are devoted to agriculture"), while diagrams and other graphic components elaborate on the material. Readers should feel at home with the mock-interactive format that lets them visit a construction site one minute, and blast into the cosmos the next. Ages 10âup.