The World of Music at first glance looks no different from its predecessors in its treatment of western music. But closer investigation reveals more than token coverage of non-western music, pop, jazz and contemporary music - styles, instruments and composers - to which children are now regularly exposed.

The music of India, Africa, China and Japan is well covered in the instruments section. Some attempt has been made to include little-known information: reference is made to the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood” which used a sitar (although this won’t mean much to the average nine-year-old) and there is a story about a prince in the paragraph about the Japanese koto. It is a pity the familiar recorder gets only a few lines, but to compensate the steel drum has its own highlighted section.

The second part of the book deals with musical styles beginning, somewhat unusually, with electronic music. From the greats of rock guitar such as Eric Clapton and Brian May, the text moves chronologically from medieval music to the modern age. This is one of the few children’s reference books to make any attempt to evaluate the current rock scene and to deem heavy metal and punk rock worthy of inclusion alongside more respectable classical styles.

The section on women composers mentions only Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, but in the glossary Judith Weir appears with Dame Ethel Smyth and Amy Beach, the first president of the Association of Women Composers.

The authors have written a text that should be accessible to the literate 9 to 13-year-old, managing to avoid being facile or excessively scholarly. In its presentation the book copies earlier conventions in its use of key fact boxes and highlighted panels. The photos are generally well chosen: I particularly liked the juxtaposition of paintings and photographs. Some sections call for illustrations and while perhaps it is time to drop the customary cross section of the piano, the pages on instruments and electronic music seem incomplete without them.

An accompanying CD is advertised. This will be a real bonus to teachers even if, as it appears, only the classical repertoire is recorded. Nevertheless its very existence lifts A World of Music from the realms of just another music gift book to a publication that has practical classroom use. And it is certainly very good value for money.