(4) K-3 Let's Investigate with Nate series. Illustrated by Wes Hargis. PBS host/scientist Ball (in cartoon form) and a group of adventurous children travel back in time from a science museum to the Mesozoic era to return a wayward dinosaur to its rightful period. The main text briefly describes conditions in different geologic periods while dialogue bubbles convey the slight fictional frame story; one student's journal pages provide additional facts. A fossil-dig activity is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Let's Investigate with Nate series. Illustrated by Wes Hargis. This entry in the Magic School Bus read-alike series introduces a cartoon-illustrated version of real-life scientist Nate Ball and four children at a science museum. Shrinking as small as molecules, they travel through the water cycle (although the definition misrepresents the process). Speech-bubble dialogue accompanies the cursory facts, with pages from one child's journal reinforcing vocabulary concepts throughout. A relevant experiment is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Let's Investigate with Nate series. Illustrated by Wes Hargis. Real-life scientist Nate Ball and four kid "Investigators" hop into a spacecraft and visit major objects in the solar system in this installment of the Magic School Bus read-alike series. Alongside cartoon illustrations, their speech-bubble dialogue accompanies superficial text about the system's formation, gravity, planets, asteroids, and more. Pages from child Braden's journal reinforce vocabulary concepts throughout. A relevant experiment is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) K-3 Let's Investigate series. Brief text discusses the forms of water and under what conditions, such as temperature or pressure, it changes, the hydrologic cycle and rain and snow, water in oceans, and how life on earth depends on water for survival. The large font headlining the sidebars distracts the reader from the main text, but the clear color photos and clean design are attractive. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Let's Investigate series. A short text and large photos of these appealing and shy endangered wildcats provide basic facts about cheetahs and their habitat. Short sidebars with catchy titles like "Cheetah Handles" (how mothers carry babies) and "Cheetah Royalty" (the king cheetah) give a combination of essential and ancillary facts. The photos and design are clean and inviting. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson

(4) K-3 Let's Investigate series. Lots of color photographs of the winged mammals will draw readers to this volume, which identifies several different species, discusses their habitats, and describes how they fly, eat, and sleep. The information is presented in a scattershot, unfocused fashion, as when the word echolocation is used in a sidebar but not defined until thirteen pages later. Glos.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta