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Barn Owl
The variety of animals here makes this series a possibility for larger collections.
Though they offer only barebones information, these books for beginning readers are accessible introductions to standard features of nonfiction. With large close-up photos dominating the pages, each volume touches on its subject's habitat, diet, care of young, behaviors, and defenses; the "weird but cute" angle isn't a focus. Vocabulary words are printed in bold type and defined in an appended picture glossary. Reading list. Ind. Review covers these Weird but Cute titles: Barn Owl and Rockhopper Penguin.
Inside the Daytona 500
Very informative with good notes for research purposes, but not the most exciting or gender-inclusive books on the roster.
Incorporating primary source material and photographs of varying quality, this series provides an insider's view of elite sports competitions. After an introductory list of "fast facts," five brief narrative chapters each focus on a real person's particular point of view (coach, athlete, referee, fan, cheerleader, broadcaster, etc.). Overall, these volumes are uneven and slim on substantive information. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Inside Look at Sports Events titles: Inside the Daytona 500, Inside the NBA Finals, Inside the Olympics, Inside the Super Bowl, Inside the World Cup, and Inside the World Series.
Animal Athletics
Though this series has some flaws, the concept is fun and will spur discussion.
Framed as an Olympic competition, this series highlights survival adaptations of "record-breaking animal athletes." Each "event" introduces a human sport while corresponding animal competitors and their abilities are described and awarded places; a results chart by animal group is appended. The books are merely cursory overviews of comparable animal behaviors, but the sports tie-in and compelling action photos may attract young readers. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Animalympics titles: Animal Gymnastics and Animal Strength and Combat Sports.
Desert Animals
High appeal for browsers.
Each book introduces ten species with a single photo of the animal (on a white background, not in its habitat) and texts in layers of reading difficulty. Basic facts appear in large font; more-in-depth details linked to color-coded icons (for diet, location, size, etc.) appear in smaller, pale print; and chibi cartoon "Safari Sam" offers random factual asides. Overall, this presentation is disjointed. Glos., ind. Review covers these Safari Sam's Wild Animals titles: Desert Animals, Freshwater Animals, Jungle Animals, Mountain Animals, Ocean Animals, and Polar Animals.
Inventing the Video Game
Good choices for casual browsers and budding inventors.
These books examine the history and technological underpinnings of these modern machines. Each volume hits on a few key people and events critical to the creation of the technology as well as to the products' broad popularity. The books are quite short, though, and don't provide much more than basic information about these technologies. There are four other spring 2016 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Spark of Invention titles: Inventing the Internet, Inventing the Television, Inventing the Cell Phone, and Inventing the Hybrid Car.
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