Serbia

Ms. Milivojevic's overview of Serbia and Montenegro is both refreshing and informative. As a book intended for children and young adults, it offers an accurate description of the history and culture of an often overlooked and recently misrepresented region of the Balkans. In addition, the work appropriately identifies the basic events and individuals related to the civil war and international conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Within the context of all of the nations represented in the "Enchantment of the World" series published by the Children's Press, of which I have read through roughly a dozen books with my young daughter and son, "Serbia" offered me the unique opportunity to introduce and discuss with my children a more serious and less adventurous account of civil war. "Serbia" provides readers, both young and old, with a source social and geographic information that is more detailed than an encyclopedia entry and handier than an Internet search. In particular, we enjoyed the pictures and maps that supported the text. Furthermore, due to the lack of tourist publications as a result of the wars of the 1990s, this book is a useful substitute for a travel guide. I found this book in the children's section of a local library, yet I wish that this specific title and other books in this series were marketed more enthusiastically and made more readily available for purchase.