Tree of Knowledge

Where do you go when you need to find information on a particular subject? Today, the answer, most often, is the Internet. With computers taking over the knowledge arena, reading has been relegated to the back seat.

But a new magazine, which calls itself “the encyclopedia for every school child”, is indeed attractive enough to warrant a peek between its covers. Tree of Knowledge, a fortnightly magazine, is split into five sections: The Living World covers biology; Visiting the Past is obviously history; Science Explained focuses on physics and chemistry, Our Planet combines geography with a bit of science; and The Human Factor takes you through the arts and culture.

Going by the first issue, which hit the stands on September 10, this is one magazine that will be more popular with parents; what the kids think remains to be seen. The production is excellent with fabulous photographs, fact boxes with extra information, maps and illustrations. The section on the tsunami under Our Planet tells you all you want to know about these giant waves by focusing on the devastating one unleashed by the 2004 earthquake off Sumatra. The Science Explained section takes you into the astronaut’s suit and uses pictures and more pictures to give you all the info you need on why people going into space need those special suits.

The only grouse is that the text could be more child-friendly. While the general appearance of the magazine seems to target the 7-12 age groups, the text seems to be addressing an older group. Also a couple of typos (Gandhiji’s wife’s name is spelled Katurba) could have been avoided.