Sungwan So

This entire series presents beautifully illustrated (photographic) overviews of the cultural realities of modern day life in the country named in the title. Each volume contains an "author's note" giving an introduction to the country in question, then for each letter, A-Z, there is a brief paragraph describing some aspect of the culture. Fascinating content, for example, in "C is for China": A for the use of Abacuses, H for Herbal Medicine, etc. Great jumping-off points for further reading and research on the country. Great for seeding the imagination with concrete images of real people, to help make map-studies come alive, and to help inspire travel planning. Nothing at all even remotely violent or dramatic, either emotionally, socially, or physically, so a very safe choice for highly sensitive young readers (like my sensitive just-turned-4-year-old son). Highly recommended. I only wish they had more countries in the series.… (meer)