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Ankylosaurus and Other Armored Dinosaurs: The Need-To-Know Facts
Serviceable but unexceptional dinosaur species introductions.
Field-guide-like spreads give superficial statistics (including Latin name, pronunciation, size, and period of existence) for about a dozen dinosaur species. Regrettably, the species are organized alphabetically in each slight volume, rather than by any more illuminating scientific scheme. Computer-generated images of what the dinosaurs and their environments may have looked like include helpful pop-up comments. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Dinosaur Fact Dig titles: Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Brachiosaurus.
What's Your Story, Amelia Earhart?
Despite hiccups, a good introduction to biographies, with Sequoyah, Paul Revere, and Wilma Rudolph the best of the series.
Cub Reporter "interviews" the legendary African American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist. Rudolph responds to simplistic questions about her complicated life in her own hokey "voice" ("Yes, and I was so proud!"). Cartoons of a microphone-holding bear cub alternate with captioned photos that extend information. The premise may work for reluctant readers. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.
Danica Patrick
An excellent first purchase.
These books offer brief introductions to female leaders in professional basketball (Parker), golf (Wie), and soccer (Wambach). A timeline footer carries readers through the pages as large color photographs illustrate the athletes in action. While the brief, large-font texts are designed with early readers in mind, fans will find them skimpy in content. Common Core critical thinking questions appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Pebble Plus: Women in Sports titles: Candace Parker, Michelle Wie, and Abby Wambach.
Charles Darwin Develops the Theory of Evolution
Strong choices for deepening subject collections.
Each book starts with an iconic scientific moment then explores its historic and biographical context, with supporting images, primary sources, curated online sources, and critical thinking questions interspersed throughout. With a consistent format, the books respond to core curriculum guidelines and expand on these scientists' founding stories, although some of the "great moment" hooks work better than others. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Great Moments in Science titles: Charles Darwin Develops the Theory of Evolution, Isaac Newton Discovers Gravity, Louis Pasteur Advances Microbiology, Thomas Edison Invents the Light Bulb, Marie Curie Advances the Study of Radioactivity, and Rachel Carson Sparks the Environmental Movement.
Eagles: Built for the Hunt
Useful and likely to be popular entries in a continually strong series.
Short chapters accompanied by large, pertinent color photos clearly explain the concepts of predator and prey. The text focuses on the piranha's hunting style, discussing the kinds of prey it seeks and the piranha's size, speed, physical attributes, defenses against counterattack, and strategy. Fact sidebars and same-page vocabulary definitions are helpful design elements. Reading list. Glos., ind.
Making Fire in the Wild
Good introduction to the concepts but little practical advice is found in this attractive series.
Most Notorious Curses of All Time
A real steal for readers who love sports trivia.
Sports fans are presented with superlative-like trivia in clear prose illustrated with photos on uncluttered layouts. The series features themed moments from the history of a wide variety of sports, both popular team sports (baseball, hockey, basketball, etc.) and individual competitions such as auto- and horse-racing. Unfortunately, the overall coverage slants heavily toward male athletes. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Legendary World of Sports titles: The Most Notorious Curses of All Time, The Oddest Superstitions of all Time, The Most Dominant Dynasties of All Time, The Most Amazing Sports Moments of All Time, The Greatest Coaches of All Times, and The Biggest Upsets of All Time.
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