(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Jos A. Smith. This thoughtful biography covers Mendel's early pursuits through his time as a friar at the Czech Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno. There his early experiments with plant genetics in peas were encouraged and respected, though not recognized by the larger scientific community until 1900. Smith's detailed watercolor-style illustrations ably illustrate Bardoe's lucid text. Bib.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Chain Reactions series. This volume explores the history of genetics, from Mendel's discovery of dominant and recessive traits to forensic DNA typing. Though it's unclear why Mendel (instead of, say, Watson and Crick) is the chosen lead-in for genetic fingerprinting and the Human Genome Project, the volume's colorful diagrams and photographs are otherwise informative (although sidebars clutter the pages). Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) YA Oxford Portraits in Science series. These books profile the lives and work of two men in very different settings: Fermi, celebrated as a brilliant thinker from an early age, and Mendel, whose work gained importance only years after his death. Both accounts place the work of these scientific thinkers in the context of the scientific discoveries of their times. Black-and-white illustrations accompany the texts.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford