(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Earth Detectives series. Olson's cursory introductions to different earth-science disciplines first define each field, then shift to discussions of the scientific research and methods used. One famous historical scientist is always profiled, then the laboratory and field work of today's practitioners are described; accompanying photographs feature the landforms and earth materials discussed plus important scientific tools. Back matter offers career advice and tests readers' comprehension. Glos. Review covers these Earth Detectives titles: Exploring Earthquakes, Exploring Fossils, Exploring Minerals, Exploring the Rock Cycle, Exploring Volcanoes, and Exploring Weather.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Our Extreme Earth series. These small-trim books for very young readers present basic introductions to earth science topics. A sentence or two on each page defines processes or materials, with emphasis on key vocabulary words. Colorful (uncaptioned) photographs are fairly well matched to the accompanying text. Each book ends with an image and brief profile of a scientist from the related field and a question for further thought. Glos. Review covers these SandCastle: Our Extreme Earth titles: Earthquakes, Fossils, Minerals, The Rock Cycle, Weather, and Volcanoes.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace Gadgets & Gizmos series. Exploring the potential of makerspaces, each of these short volumes provides instructions for six electronic or engineering projects that make use of listed supplies. Photographs accompany clear instructions, and brightly colored backgrounds and lively fonts create an engaging aesthetic. Even if the finished projects vary in appeal to some readers, overall they encourage interest in tinkering. Includes tips for "Makerspace Maintenance." Glos., ind. Review covers these titles: Connect It!, Robotify It!, Light It!, and Move It!.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace Gadgets & Gizmos series. Exploring the potential of makerspaces, each of these short volumes provides instructions for six electronic or engineering projects that make use of listed supplies. Photographs accompany clear instructions, and brightly colored backgrounds and lively fonts create an engaging aesthetic. Even if the finished projects vary in appeal to some readers, overall they encourage interest in tinkering. Includes tips for "Makerspace Maintenance." Glos., ind. Review covers these titles: Connect It!, Robotify It!, Light It!, and Move It!.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots series. This series entry looks at pirates in their heyday. The main focus is on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Atlantic and Caribbean swashbucklers, with brief mentions of ancient and modern pirates and piracy in other areas. While treatments of individual topics are brief, the volume is decently informative overall. The layouts are bland, but photos, illustrations, and sidebars add extra information to the basic text. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots series. Each book takes a broad look at its titular warriors, exploring their historical beginnings, how they lived and fought, and even their place in modern pop culture. While treatments of individual topics are brief, the volumes are decently informative overall. The layouts are bland, but photos, illustrations, and sidebars add extra information to the basic texts. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots titles: Ninjas!, Samurai!, and Vikings!.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots series. This entry in the series examines spies and spy craft. While pop culture and older examples of spies are briefly discussed, the main focus is intelligence-gathering techniques in modern history. While treatments of individual topics are brief, the volume is decently informative overall. The layouts are bland, but photos, illustrations, and sidebars add extra information to the basic text. Timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots series. Each book takes a broad look at its titular warriors, exploring their historical beginnings, how they lived and fought, and even their place in modern pop culture. While treatments of individual topics are brief, the volumes are decently informative overall. The layouts are bland, but photos, illustrations, and sidebars add extra information to the basic texts. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: History's Hotshots titles: Ninjas!, Samurai!, and Vikings!.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) 4-6 Mind Games series. These informative volumes about personality, dreams, and memory each begin with a chapter on previous beliefs and theories, followed by five or six chapters outlining current knowledge on the topic. Frequent photographs and line drawings accompany the plentiful quizzes and entertaining activities throughout, which let kids challenge themselves. A concluding activity to try with friends and family is appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Mind Games titles: Dreams and What They Mean, Memory Fun, and What's Your Personality?

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Mind Games series. These informative volumes about personality, dreams, and memory each begin with a chapter on previous beliefs and theories, followed by five or six chapters outlining current knowledge on the topic. Frequent photographs and line drawings accompany the plentiful quizzes and entertaining activities throughout, which let kids challenge themselves. A concluding activity to try with friends and family is appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Mind Games titles: Dreams and What They Mean, Memory Fun, and What's Your Personality?

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Mind Games series. These appealing volumes about astrology, psychic abilities, and predicting the future each begin with a chapter on early cultural beliefs, followed by five or six chapters outlining current knowledge and speculation. Frequent photographs and line drawings accompany the plentiful quizzes and entertaining activities, which let kids challenge their own future-predicting skills. A concluding activity is appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Mind Games titles: Are You Psychic? and Astrological Signs.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Mind Games series. These appealing volumes about astrology, psychic abilities, and predicting the future each begin with a chapter on early cultural beliefs, followed by five or six chapters outlining current knowledge and speculation. Frequent photographs and line drawings accompany the plentiful quizzes and entertaining activities, which let kids challenge their own future-predicting skills. A concluding activity is appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Mind Games titles: Are You Psychic? and Astrological Signs.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: 1st in Fashion series. Using a conversational tone, this engaging biography series discusses the life of each designer, his or her creative contribution within social history, and the evolution of the style to modern day. Additional facts appear at the bottom of pages as well as in "Fashion Factoid" sidebars throughout. Captioned photographs, a large font, and bright colors add appeal to the layouts. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: 1st in Fashion titles: Chuck Taylor: Sneaker Sensation, Eddie Bauer: Down Jacket Developer, Louis Réard: Bikini Designer, Mary Quant: Miniskirt Maker, Sam Foster: Sunglasses Success, and Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Modern Engineering Marvels series. The high-tech vehicles and equipment discussed in these brief introductory texts are still being developed, though some are operational today. Each book briefly traces the technology's history, current uses, and future possibilities and risks in clearly written text. Unfortunately, the books' layouts are boxy and boring, with full-color stock photographs and sometimes unclear infographics that add little to the content. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: Modern Engineering Marvels titles: 3-D Printers, Virtual-Reality Headsets, Wearable Technology, Drones, and Self-Driving Cars.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) K-3 Engineering Super Structures series. Each book in this series superficially introduces newly independent readers to a different type of engineered structure, noting its history, construction, uses, and maintenance. Every spread contains a few simple sentences--with new vocabulary in bold--plus accompanying photographs (including an awkwardly superimposed image of a child). A concluding "Think About It" question offers an opportunity for a bit of deeper reflection. Glos. Review covers these Engineering Super Structures titles: Dams, Bridges, Canals, Roads, Skyscrapers, and Tunnels.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson