SLJ Review of How to Build Our World Set Two

An easy-to-understand breakdown of ecosystems from the bottom up that teaches about how each component is integral to their respective environments.

The art mixes illustrations and real photographs to show the elements at each stage of the building process with a partnership between the concrete images in the still photographs and conceptual ideas presented in the ­illustrations.

Each ecosystem is built like a diorama with specific pieces such as species in focus one at a time and slowly layered in a way that respects the complexity of the environmental ­sciences without overwhelming students with ­minutiae.

VERDICT This series puts the modeling clay of life science in the hands and minds of students looking for a spark of creation.