Circling the Globe

At 640 pages covering all 180 of the world's nations — backed by more than 2,500 illustrations, 200 maps, and 700 photographs — Sue Grabham's reference volume was an impressive single-volume world guide for young readers in 1995. Kirkus confirmed its editorial quality at publication, and school libraries adopted it widely. Thirty years later, the information is significantly outdated: countries have changed borders, names, and governments, and internet resources have long since surpassed any static print reference for current data. What remains is a richly illustrated historical snapshot of the world as it was — genuinely useful for understanding that era, less useful for current homework. If you find a copy, it's still a browsable, beautifully made book. Just go in knowing it's a time capsule.