Gorgeous full-page color illustration and tons of non-fiction text features (table of contents, map, picture caption, headings, italics, fact boxes, glossary, index)
Not a ton of information- so probably better for lower elementary than upper. I did learn about the Colombian river that changes colors though- that is awesome. Also, the information is varied, so probably a second grader could find enough info for a country project.
This was the book assigned to first grade from a program I volunteer with. It did not hold the kids' attention, and provided only the lightest of facts for each section. We supplemented our discussion with interesting facts provided by the program (a condor's wingspan is 12 feet) and thought afterward we should have pulled up Wikipedia.