(4) K-3 All About Science series. These books, designed for a primary-grade audience, superficially introduce the concepts of force and magnetism. Royston uses short sentences and simple language to explain the basics of these principles, while bland stock photos and easy experiments (interspersed throughout, with results appended) adequately illustrate and exemplify them. Both books include a quiz. Reading list. Glos., ind. Reviews cover the following All About Science titles: All About Forces and All About Magnetism.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 All About Science series. These books, designed for a primary-grade audience, superficially introduce the concepts of force and magnetism. Royston uses short sentences and simple language to explain the basics of these principles, while bland stock photos and easy experiments (interspersed throughout, with results appended) adequately illustrate and exemplify them. Both books include a quiz. Reading list. Glos., ind. Reviews cover the following All About Science titles: All About Forces and All About Magnetism.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Unstable Earth series. These titles present worst-case scenarios for each topic. Clear explanations of general problems come first, followed by chapters with specifics (e.g., oil drilling, pesticides) in text blocks. Increasingly dire projections for future decades and centuries are interspersed, complete with dystopian headlines. Small, individual mitigations are suggested on the last pages. Color photographs, charts, and other visuals fill busy spreads. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Unstable Earth titles: What Happens if the Ozone Disappears?, What Happens if the Rain Forests Disappear?, What Happens if We Overfish the Oceans?, and What Happens When an Ice Cap Melts?.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Unstable Earth series. These titles present worst-case scenarios for each topic. Clear explanations of general problems come first, followed by chapters with specifics (e.g., oil drilling, pesticides) in text blocks. Increasingly dire projections for future decades and centuries are interspersed, complete with dystopian headlines. Small, individual mitigations are suggested on the last pages. Color photographs, charts, and other visuals fill busy spreads. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Unstable Earth titles: What Happens if the Ozone Disappears?, What Happens if the Rain Forests Disappear?, What Happens if We Overfish the Oceans?, and What Happens When an Ice Cap Melts?.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Animal Classifications series. Following a brief introduction to reptiles' identifying characteristics and the concept of scientific classification, two-page spreads alternately discuss reptiles' shared features (e.g., scales, egg laying, cold-bloodedness) and highlight the ways that subcategories of reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, etc.) exhibit these general features. Captioned photos provide additional details on individual reptiles. A quiz is appended. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Animal Classifications series. Following a brief introduction to mammals' identifying characteristics and the concept of scientific classification, two-page spreads address mammals' shared attributes and highlight subdivisions of the mammal class. Bright, captioned photos help break up paragraphs on key concepts. A spread on humans reminds readers of their own place in the animal kingdom. A quiz is appended. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) K-3 Animal Classifications series. Following a brief introduction to birds' identifying characteristics and the concept of scientific classification, two-page spreads provide a general overview of physical attributes and adaptations, nesting and chick-rearing behaviors, and subcategories such as water birds. Captioned photos are well chosen; an occasional spread features exceptional birds (e.g., the swift, which sleeps while it flies). A quiz is appended. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) 4-6 Feel the Force series. The physics of force and motion are addressed through examples drawn from the popular topics of sports and space exploration. Rather than thorough explanation, both books emphasize vocabulary related to the pushes and pulls used to propel athletes or spacecraft as well as the friction that objects encounter. Color photographs and diagrams, activities, and a quiz are included in each volume. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Feel the Force titles: Win That Sprint! and Fly to Mars!.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) K-3 Adapted to Survive series. Clear, concise description along with interesting facts makes these animal-adaptation books strong picks. Independent readers can easily gather information from the text, compelling photographs, captions, and "Did You Know?" sidebars. "Challenge" questions at the end will expand understanding, and an activity asking students to imagine their own unique climbing or camouflaged animal adds a level of creative thinking. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Adapted to Survive titles: Animals That Climb and Animals That Hide.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Adapted to Survive series. Clear, concise description along with interesting facts makes these animal-adaptation books strong picks. Independent readers can easily gather information from the text, compelling photographs, captions, and "Did You Know?" sidebars. "Challenge" questions at the end will expand understanding, and an activity asking students to imagine their own unique climbing or camouflaged animal adds a level of creative thinking. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Adapted to Survive titles: Animals That Climb and Animals That Hide.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) 4-6 Essential Physical Science series. Accurately if somewhat jumpily, these question-and-answer-format books explain and illustrate their title principles. Topics such as clashing forces and uses for evaporation are covered on crammed spreads including several blocks of text, color photos with boxed captions, diagrams, and sidebars. Each book contains three experiments, some more practical than others. Overall, these are browsable, useful overviews. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Physical Science titles: Forces of Energy, Magnetism, and Solids, Liquids, and Gases.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 Diary of A... series. Clear and well organized, with highlighted vocabulary words and enticing photographs, this book recounts a week in the life of a helicopter pilot who flies to oil rigs. It's not clear who's "writing" the diary, which readers may find confusing. Overall, this is a useful technical introduction for kids. Tips on diary writing are included. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Diary of A... series. Clear and well organized, with highlighted vocabulary words and enticing color photographs, each book recounts a week in a performer's life, from rehearsals to costumes to being on stage. It's not clear who is "writing" the diary, which readers may find confusing. Overall, however, these are useful introductions to each profession. Tips on diary writing are included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Diary of a... titles: Diary of a Ballerina and Diary of a Circus Performer.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Diary of A... series. Clear and well organized, with highlighted vocabulary words and enticing color photographs, each book recounts a week in a performer's life, from rehearsals to costumes to being on stage. It's not clear who is "writing" the diary, which readers may find confusing. Overall, however, these are useful introductions to each profession. Tips on diary writing are included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Diary of a... titles: Diary of a Ballerina and Diary of a Circus Performer.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 Emergency! series. These are superficial overviews of natural and accident-related disasters. Each book defines the topic and identifies some notable events, mostly from recent history. For example, Earthquake includes catastrophes ranging from the 1906 San Francisco quake to the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Sidebars include eyewitness accounts and news segments from media sources. Reluctant readers will respond to the dramatic photographs. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Emergency! titles: Plane Crash, Earthquake, Oil Disaster, Fire Disaster, Nuclear Accident, and Chemical Accident.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Your Body Inside and Out series. This series provides very basic information about human bodies, anatomy, and grooming (the latter most especially in Teeth). Heavily illustrated with photographs and drawings (some are repeated across volumes), the spreads feature short paragraphs of uneven text, captions, fact boxes, and "Try This!" activities (e.g., flexing muscles, inhaling deeply). Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Your Body Inside and Out titles: Bones and Muscles, Senses, Teeth and Hair, Food and Digestion, Growing, and Heart and Lungs.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) 4-6 Your Body Inside and Out series. This series provides very basic information about human bodies, anatomy, and grooming (the latter most especially in Teeth). Heavily illustrated with photographs and drawings (some are repeated across volumes), the spreads feature short paragraphs of uneven text, captions, fact boxes, and "Try This!" activities (e.g., flexing muscles, inhaling deeply). Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Your Body Inside and Out titles: Bones and Muscles, Senses, Teeth and Hair, Food and Digestion, Growing, and Heart and Lungs.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) 4-6 Your Body Inside and Out series. This series provides very basic information about human bodies, anatomy, and grooming (the latter most especially in Teeth). Heavily illustrated with photographs and drawings (some are repeated across volumes), the spreads feature short paragraphs of uneven text, captions, fact boxes, and "Try This!" activities (e.g., flexing muscles, inhaling deeply). Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Your Body Inside and Out titles: Bones and Muscles, Senses, Teeth and Hair, Food and Digestion, Growing, and Heart and Lungs.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) YA Explaining series. These texts, assisted by color photos and graphics, provide an overview of each disorder--description, treatment, research, etc. Sidebars add facts, and "Case Notes" share personal stories. Some generalities appear throughout the series, but the books are mainly informative and useful. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Explaining titles: Explaining Cerebral Palsy, Explaining Deafness, Explaining Cystic Fibrosis, Explaining Asthma, andExplaining Down Syndrome.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) YA Explaining series. These texts, assisted by color photos and graphics, provide an overview of each disorder--description, treatment, research, etc. Sidebars add facts, and "Case Notes" share personal stories. Some generalities appear throughout the series, but the books are mainly informative and useful. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Explaining titles: Explaining Cerebral Palsy, Explaining Deafness, Explaining Cystic Fibrosis, Explaining Asthma, andExplaining Down Syndrome.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges