Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe

Hilarious from start to finish, this is the way kids might wish to be educated in all their subjects--with puns and ingenious analogies providing mnemonic devices. Among the many memorable comparisons: the international date line becomes a half-shaven face; an isthmus is seen as a person's neck; four banana slices in a bowl of cereal and milk represent land masses in contrast to oceans. Definitions are to the point, yet there's admirable depth (e.g., the way in which geographical divisions are linked to culture and history, as exemplified by four generations staying in Lvov, but reared in four different countries). Steppe by steppe, with no pampa -sity, this brother team makes the continents merrily manageable. Cartoony illustrations extend the academic antics, which will have kids heading strait for the bookshelves to peruse this winner. All ages. (Oct.)