(4) K-3 Blazers: Cool Competitions series. These books, part of a larger series, give cursory information about competitive games. Drones explains competitions, races, and combat events in which pilots use the remote-controlled aircraft. Role-Playing introduces a variety of RPGs, including tabletop, online, and live-action games. Fact sidebars and lackluster stock photographs are incorporated into the very basic texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Blazers: Cool Competitions titles: Incredible Drone Competitions and Fascinating Role-Playing Games.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Space series. Travel in space with NASA in these latest Choose Your Own Adventure–narratives based on real events. Readers select different plot options to follow, all accompanied by black-and-white and color photographs. Unfortunately, transitions between sections are inadequate and the stories are a bit wooden. Still, young readers will learn a lot about the evolution of the space program since the 1960s. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers the following You Choose: Space titles: Apollo 11 Moon Landing and Mars Exploration Rovers.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Natural Disaster True Survival Stories series. In a series about real-life disaster survival, these volumes focus on weather-related events in the U.S. In each book, a brief introduction describes the disaster and four or five chapters detail real individuals' involvement. Gripping, you-are-there narratives are supplemented with primary source quotations (footnoted and sourced); photos and other graphics (maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.) provide additional insight. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disaster True Survival Stories titles: California Wildfires, Hurricane Katrina, and Joplin Tornado.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) K-3 Smithsonian: Planets series. These books for second through fourth graders include basic facts about planets in our solar system, accompanied by excellent images from the latest planetary explorations. Additional considerations of "secrets"--the unknowns and puzzles that guide current scientific inquiry--illustrate the constantly changing understanding of astronomers, both historical and present-day. Critical thinking questions are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Smithsonian: Planets titles: The Secrets of Neptune, The Secrets of Earth, and The Secrets of Saturn.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Searchlight Books: Do You Know the Continents? series. This boilerplate series provides basic information about the continent it covers in serviceable but generic prose. The cursory overview of South America's unique features offers little more than surface facts. Brief chapters provide information on countries and cities, climate, landforms, natural resources, people, cultures, and economics. Colorful stock photos, maps, and sidebars appear throughout. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 SportsZone: Inside Martial Arts series. Each book in this series presents the history, rules, vocabulary, techniques, and key personalities of its sport. While similarities among these sports exist, the authors emphasize how distinct purposes and procedures make each a unique form of martial arts. Aficionados will appreciate the colorful action photographs and the engaging play-by-play depictions of moves that accompany the readable texts. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following SportsZone: Inside Martial Arts titles: Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu,Karate, Aikido, Judo, and Mixed Martial Arts.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 A+ Books Bilingüe: Mídelo / Measure It series. Length and Distance shows Sue measuring her pets, her plant, a truck, the depth of a pool, and her own height. Time explains time measurements as Ann's family prepares to go on vacation. Color photos and text are a little awkward in these otherwise helpful bilingual books. Interesting facts about measurement are appended. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A+ Books Bilingüe: Mídelo / Measure It titles: ¿Cómo mides le tiempo? / How Do You Measure Time? and ¿Cómo mides la longitud y la distancia? / How Do You Meaure Length and Distance?.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 A+ Books Bilingüe: Mídelo / Measure It series. Length and Distance shows Sue measuring her pets, her plant, a truck, the depth of a pool, and her own height. Time explains time measurements as Ann's family prepares to go on vacation. Color photos and text are a little awkward in these otherwise helpful bilingual books. Interesting facts about measurement are appended. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A+ Books Bilingüe: Mídelo / Measure It titles: ¿Cómo mides le tiempo? / How Do You Measure Time? and ¿Cómo mides la longitud y la distancia? / How Do You Meaure Length and Distance?.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Pebble Plus: Exploring the Galaxy series. The text explains some characteristics of Pluto and, in this revised and updated edition, Pluto's recent reclassification. Though the definitions can be vague ("Dwarf planets are round objects that move around the Sun. Dwarf planets are too small to be planets"), simple vocabulary and sentence structures make the writing accessible. Striking photographs help illustrate the science. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz