Steven Engelfried
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The Dawn of Planet Earth
High-quality individual titles stand alone, and the whole set provides a strong introduction to prehistoric life.
The evolution of animal life on Earth, from formation to the rise of mammals, is profiled across the four books. Hosted by a smiley tetrapod, each packed two-page spread features facts and descriptions of several species and their remains, their environments, and major geological and evolutionary events. Computer-generated images of the various creatures include many with anthropomorphized features. Ind. Review covers these Prehistoric Field Guides titles: The Dawn of Planet Earth, Dinosaurs Rule, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, and The Rise of Mammals.
Chameleons
Bare-bones material paired with strong visual appeal makes this set an excellent choice for beginners; older readers will want more content.
Allosaurus
Smooth prose and strongly organized text and illustrations make this a better-than-average choice for the dinosaur shelves.
The series describes common and less-familiar dinosaurs through a focus on prominent fossil finds, explaining how the evidence can be used to determine the behaviors, feeding habits, competitors, and environments of each species; paleontologists are also profiled. Tiny photos, illustrations of varying quality, and odd layouts detract somewhat from the presentations. There are seven other fall 2015 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Exploring Dinosaurs titles: Apatosoaurus, Compsognathus, Maiasaura, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor.
Cranes
The consistent, if unexciting, structure makes this series a good fit for beginning readers hoping to digest introductory data, but they will need to look elsewhere for more engaging treatments of these highly interesting animals.
Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man
An appealing choice for young superhero fans not quite ready for Marvel and DC.
The Big Ideas of Buster Bickles
While less compelling than other science-gone-wrong picture books such as Mac Barnett's Oh No! (Disney-Hyperion, 2010) or Chris Gall's Awesome Dawson (Little, Brown, 2013), Buster's crazy journey has a nice mix of techie adventure and visual humor.
Get to Know Chameleons
Many libraries will have books on these animals already, but these solid presentations on perennially popular subjects are worth considering.
Robots: Watch Out, Water About!
The natural congruency of mechanical robots and a book with moving pieces makes this a solid choice for pop-up collections.
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