Jupiter Saturn Uranus Venus

Gr 1—3—Aside from the use of boilerplate in both texts and illustrations, these titles offer a serviceable combination of colorful photos and art matched to a substantial but not overwhelming blend of general statements and specific facts. Each volume features a (not to scale) solar-system map that even includes the five dwarf planets, systematically describes what we have learned through direct observation and from space probes, and closes with leads to further print and web resources. Jupiter is the weak link here-opening with an unlikely-to-be-taken-up invitation to view the planet by "looking high in the sky just before sunrise," misleadingly claiming that "[f]rom Earth you can see Jupiter's four largest moons," and superimposing an axial grid over an incorrectly angled photo. Saturn, Uranus, and Venus merit consideration as alternatives or additions to equivalent volumes in Lerner's "Early Bird Astronomy" series (2009) and older titles.—John Peters, formerly at New York Public Library