(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Crime Scene Investigations series. Illustrated by Dario Brizuela. Batman and Robin use their scientific knowledge of fingerprint analysis (Thieves) and fire investigation (Flames) to track down stolen volumes of Shakespeare and catch an arsonist, respectively. Cartoon illustrations and mildly engaging mysteries add interest to this mid-elementary series, but the scientific explanations feel rather forced and the font is small. "More About" pages are appended to each. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Batman & Robin Crime Scene Investigations titles: The Felon's Fowl Flames and The Prints of Thieves.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Crime Scene Investigations series. Illustrated by Dario Brizuela. Batman and Robin use their scientific knowledge of fingerprint analysis (Thieves) and fire investigation (Flames) to track down stolen volumes of Shakespeare and catch an arsonist, respectively. Cartoon illustrations and mildly engaging mysteries add interest to this mid-elementary series, but the scientific explanations feel rather forced and the font is small. "More About" pages are appended to each. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Batman & Robin Crime Scene Investigations titles: The Felon's Fowl Flames and The Prints of Thieves.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("KAH-RACK!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: Harley Quinn's Crazy Creeper Caper and Catwoman's Purrfect Plot.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("KAH-RACK!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: Harley Quinn's Crazy Creeper Caper and Catwoman's Purrfect Plot.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 DC Super Heroes: Science Behind Batman series. These books show how the Caped Crusader's high-tech gadgets and vehicles are reflective of real-life technologies. Introducing new readers to science and engineering vocabulary, they explore the real-world uses of grappling hooks, smoke grenades, jet engines, helicopters, and more. Generic drawings of Batman characters sometimes feel unnecessary when the photos of real inventions are more useful. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Science Behind Batman titles: The Science Behind Batman's Tools and The Science Behind Batman's Flying Machines.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("ZWIIIIP!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: The Joker's Magic Mayhem, Scarecrow's Nightmare Maze, Clayface's Slime Spree, and Two-Face Face-Off.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("ZWIIIIP!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: The Joker's Magic Mayhem, Scarecrow's Nightmare Maze, Clayface's Slime Spree, and Two-Face Face-Off.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 DC Super Heroes: Science Behind Batman series. These books show how the Caped Crusader's high-tech gadgets and vehicles are reflective of real-life technologies. Introducing new readers to science and engineering vocabulary, they explore the real-world uses of grappling hooks, smoke grenades, jet engines, helicopters, and more. Generic drawings of Batman characters sometimes feel unnecessary when the photos of real inventions are more useful. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Science Behind Batman titles: The Science Behind Batman's Tools and The Science Behind Batman's Flying Machines.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Batman series. Illustrated by Ethen Beavers. In these brightly illustrated plot-your-own stories, readers guide the Dark Knight through Gotham City, chasing down villains on crime sprees via decisions made at crucial junctions. Batman triumphs in some way almost every time, which makes the You Choose series model feel superfluous. Still, Batman's fans will probably enjoy the ride-along experience. Glos. Review covers these You Choose: Batman titles: Clayface Returns and The Lazarus Plan.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Batman series. Illustrated by Ethen Beavers. In these brightly illustrated plot-your-own stories, readers guide the Dark Knight through Gotham City, chasing down villains on crime sprees via decisions made at crucial junctions. Batman triumphs in some way almost every time, which makes the You Choose series model feel superfluous. Still, Batman's fans will probably enjoy the ride-along experience. Glos. Review covers these You Choose: Batman titles: Clayface Returns and The Lazarus Plan.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("ZWIIIIP!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: The Joker's Magic Mayhem, Scarecrow's Nightmare Maze, Clayface's Slime Spree, and Two-Face Face-Off.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Batman & Robin Adventures series. Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio. Batman and the Boy Wonder defeat familiar foes in these accessible books. Simple story lines--featuring comic book–style sound effects ("ZWIIIIP!") within the text--combine with rapid pacing and playful banter for slight but entertaining reads. Snazzy colors and popular characters will likely appeal to reluctant readers. Discussion questions and writing prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman & Robin Adventures titles: The Joker's Magic Mayhem, Scarecrow's Nightmare Maze, Clayface's Slime Spree, and Two-Face Face-Off.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Batman series. Illustrated by Ethen Beavers. In these brightly illustrated plot-your-own stories, readers guide the Dark Knight through Gotham City, chasing down villains on crime sprees via decisions made at crucial junctions. All lead to infallible Batman saving the day, which makes the You Choose series model feel like just a gimmick. Still, Batman's fans will probably enjoy the ride-along experience. Glos. Review covers the following You Choose: Batman titles: Super-Villain Smackdown and Terrible Trio.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Batman series. Illustrated by Ethen Beavers. In these brightly illustrated plot-your-own stories, readers guide the Dark Knight through Gotham City, chasing down villains on crime sprees via decisions made at crucial junctions. All lead to infallible Batman saving the day, which makes the You Choose series model feel like just a gimmick. Still, Batman's fans will probably enjoy the ride-along experience. Glos. Review covers the following You Choose: Batman titles: Super-Villain Smackdown and Terrible Trio.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 Batman Science series. These books introduce materials science and engineering vocabulary through the features of Batman's highly engineered suits and vehicles. These comic-book creations are compared to their real-life technological equivalents to show the purpose of body armor, night vision scopes, weapons detection systems, and more. Generic Batman graphics feel superfluous on spreads featuring more useful photographs of the real stuff. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Batman Science titles: Batsuits and Capes and Batmobiles and Batcycles.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Batman Science series. These books introduce materials science and engineering vocabulary through the features of Batman's highly engineered suits and vehicles. These comic-book creations are compared to their real-life technological equivalents to show the purpose of body armor, night vision scopes, weapons detection systems, and more. Generic Batman graphics feel superfluous on spreads featuring more useful photographs of the real stuff. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Batman Science titles: Batsuits and Capes and Batmobiles and Batcycles.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Batman Strikes! series. Illustrated by Christopher Jones & Terry Beatty. Batman is on call to protect Gotham City from its usual cast of villains, always without fail. In these stories, Batman sets out to find the thief responsible for diamond burglaries and takes on Mr. Freeze. Slickly illustrated like traditional comic books, the thin plots and simple narratives will appeal to reluctant readers. "Visual questions and prompts" are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman Strikes titles: Catwoman Gets Busted by the Batman and Frozen Solid by Mr. Freeze!.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 Batman Strikes! series. Illustrated by Christopher Jones & Terry Beatty. Batman is on call to protect Gotham City from its usual cast of villains, always without fail. In these stories, Batman sets out to find the thief responsible for diamond burglaries and takes on Mr. Freeze. Slickly illustrated like traditional comic books, the thin plots and simple narratives will appeal to reluctant readers. "Visual questions and prompts" are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman Strikes titles: Catwoman Gets Busted by the Batman and Frozen Solid by Mr. Freeze!.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 Batman Strikes! series. Illustrated by Christopher Jones & Terry Beatty. Batman takes action when the Penguin breaks into Gotham's Museum of Natural History to steal priceless artifacts. The situation becomes more urgent when his arch-nemesis gets too close to Wayne Industries, which potentially threatens Batman's true identity. The deep, cool colors of the comic-panel illustrations reflect the dark tone that permeates this brief, by-the-numbers superhero story. "Visual questions and prompts" are appended. Glos.

Reviewer: April Mazza

(4) 4-6 Batman: Li'l Gotham series. Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen. Characters from the Batman universe--both heroes and villains--feature in holiday-themed stories. It's standard Batman fare, but the illustrations depart from typical American comics: instead of pen-and-ink, the muted panel artwork is rendered in watercolor and looks a bit like sloppy manga. While this gives the volumes something of a lighthearted air, the style won't appeal to purists. Visual prompts and questions are appended. Glos. Review covers these Batman: Li'l Gotham titles: Christmas and New Year's Eve, Halloween and Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo