National Geographic has updated all the political maps and statistics in its award-winning Beginner's World Atlas. The Society's world-renowned cartographers, working with education consultants and geographers have created a state-of-the-art world atlas for children ages 5 to 8. Large, easy-to-read maps introduce youngsters to the world and each of its continents. Full-colour photographs, carefully selected for their appeal to young children, supplement the maps and make people, places, and natural wonders come to life. Through simple but fact-filled text, children begin exploring the world by learning about maps and how to read them. Then they begin their continent-by-continent tour. Each continent begins with a welcome from a young native child, followed by an illustrated physical map with brief bulleted discussions of land regions, water, climate, plants, and animals. Similar treatment is given to the political map except the topics are countries, cities, people, languages, and products. Each spread features full-colour images that are keyed to the maps. Backmatter includes a map keyed to a chart of geographic superlatives, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, and an index.