THE WORLD'S WONDERS

A whirlwind tour of prominent landmarks worldwide, both natural and manufactured.

Giving future world travelers a good start on their bucket lists, this tally of tourist destinations begins with archeological sites such as the 13,000-mile-long Great Wall of China and the pyramids in Egypt. Cruz goes on to cover distinctive modern structures like Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper and finishes with the Grand Canyon and three other natural wonders. For all its brevity, the commentary generally conveys a good sense of each entry’s backstory and what makes it worth seeing—whether to look for moonbows at Victoria Falls, marvel from the air at ancient Nazca geoglyphs in Peru, or imagine what the Parthenon might have looked like in its glorious heyday. Readers inspired to find out more about any of the 13 highlighted sites may be disappointed by the lack of leads at the end, but an appended simple building project using glue and Popsicle sticks does add a hands-on element. Capped by a bulletin board hung with snapshots and memorabilia, Elliott’s cartoon illustrations add a mix of scenes featuring visitors diverse of age, race, and culture with schematic diagrams and pulled-back views to convey broader perspectives.

Highlight-reel tourism that’s reasonably inclusive and informative.