Atlases can show us, through maps and clever graphics, the  landmasses and oceans, the borders and big cities,  the populations and resources, the statistics.

Many of these books describe what it is like to travel to distant lands. They describe the peoples who live there, their cultures, languages and beliefs, their homes, their food and the way they dress. We celebrate spectacular festivals and ceremonies, but we also look at the realities of modern life, at globalisation, at poverty and wealth, war and peace. These books celebrate diversity and also international cooperation.