What Are the 7 Wonders of the Natural World?

November 1, 2013

Gr 4-7-Not much has changed in these new editions of the 2005 titles except the layout and a few awkwardly revised textual updates. The wonders of the ancient world are the traditional ones, and the wonders of the modern world are mainly pulled from a list by the American Society of Civil Engineers, but, in this edition, the CN Tower has been replaced with Dubai's Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world. It is unclear which (if any) authority the authors turned to for the natural wonders chosen for the Modern World and the United States: The latter states that "the United States and Canada are filled with natural wonders. We chose the seven that seemed to be the most famous and the most studied. However, there are many more." Each title begins with a page of two to four facts, an introductory chapter with a map, and then short chapters on each wonder complete with chapter notes and photographs when available, and unremarkable illustrations when not. Further-reading pages have been updated. Students will be better served by Philip Steele's Wonders of the World (Kingfisher, 2007) and the "Nature's Wonders" series (Marshall Cavendish).-Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR

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July 1, 2013
This updated and redesigned volume offers basic information about seven of our planet's natural wonders, including Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro. The choppy text is informative if not actually inspiring; unremarkable photos fail to effectively convey the sites' grandeur. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

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