Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures
Picture Book
For ages 8 to 10
Sterling, 2010 ISBN: 978-1402763939
All over our wonderful planet, there are ecosystems. They can be large, like a tropical rainforest, or very small, like the mini pond the lies at the bottom of your yard inside a forgotten bucket. All of these ecosystems are full of creatures of all kinds, fascinating creatures that interact in all kinds of ways. This unique book looks at twelve ecosystems that are found on Earth. For each ecosystem, Roxie Munro has created a beautiful maze that readers have to negotiate. As they ‘travel’ through each ecosystem, they are encouraged to find animals that are hidden in the illustrations.
The book begins with a tropical rainforest. Readers are told that they are “a biologist checking on the monkeys” and that they have to find their way from the pier to the beach. As they trek through the forest, readers are invited to find an interesting selection of animals that are found in rainforests around the world.
In addition to the rainforest, Roxie Munro has created maze pictures of a desert, a coral reef, a high mountain, the arctic, a wetland, the tundra, a grassland, the Antarctic, the savanna, a conifer forest, and a temperate forest. At the back of the book, there are pages that show readers where all the hidden animals are in the mazes. In addition, the author has also provide young naturalists with more information about each of the ecosystems that are featured in the book.
With extraordinary pictures and a wonderfully informative and interesting text, this is a book that should be on every library and classroom shelf.
