Science of Color: Investigating Light

Gr 3–5—Exploring the physics behind things and phenomena that will be familiar to younger students, Kenney ratchets up the level of specific detail. In Color the text doesn't just explain exactly why the sky is blue but discusses the electromagnetic spectrum, photons, how the eye works, and even why mixed paints darken rather than lighten. The photos in each volume are interspersed with clear, easy-to-understand charts and diagrams. Each also features at least one profile of a prominent scientist of the past and instructions for an elementary hands-on demonstration. The author does skip over some thornier topics, such as dark matter, and mentions that glaciers are melting faster without reference either to global warming or even the politically safer term climate change. Still, these are solid informative studies of select but important basic principles.