19. Faces

Faces by Elizabeth Crooker Carpentiere (ed.) (Carus Publishing Company) Above: Feb 2010 Issue

Genre

Magazine

Review

Each month Faces focuses on a different country and discusses the culture.  The February 2010 issue discusses Turkey.  The magazine appears to attempt a holistic approach -- they include history, food (including a recipe), sports, fauna (an article about monk seals in this case), climate, flora (tulips), entertainment (the magazine discusses the art of Turkish shadow puppets), the language (there are 35 different languages spoken in Turkey; the magazine also includes a Turkish word building game), the lives of children in Turkey (an article on pen pals, and then two profiles written by two Turkish girls), music, and a traditional story from Turkey.

Opinion

A surprisingly large amount of information is crammed into a relatively small space.  All of the information is coupled with appealing glossy photographs and occasional games (a crossword puzzle and a word building game).  The focus on children from the country is particularly appealing because it provides a clear connection to the audience.  Obviously, in an attempt to summarize a country in so small a space, some information will be left out, but the editors do a nice job of trying to balance important elements and give a taste of Turkish culture.

Ideas

The series would be ideal for history, social studies, and geography classes.  It would help humanize the areas and see what life is like there today.  Geography, in particular, can feel dry if there's not a human connection.  This particular issue of Faces discusses the notion that Turkey bridges Europe and Asia.  Seeing how that brand of dual citizenship (so to speak) affects the culture can help students understand the importance of geography.