BOOKS ET AL.
information about physiology. Regrettably, many of
the finely detailed drawings are simply too small—
and too busy—to let one easily appreciate the artist’s
clever visual ideas. And the speech and thought
bubbles too often obstruct the graphics, criminally
forcing the drawings into the background.
– Guy Riddihough
Look Inside Space. Rob Lloyd Jones. Usborne,
London, 2012. 14 pp. £9.99, $14.99, C$18.95. ISBN
9781409523383.
Young readers intrigued by space will be captivated
by this engaging tour of the universe. Brightly
colored illustrations and concise captions explain the
surface of the Moon, life on the International Space Station, how stars and
planets are created, and the composition of the Milky Way. A solar system
centerfold provides factoids about each planet, asteroids, and comets.
Another spread samples the history of stargazing and space exploration.
BROWSINGS
Rosie Revere, Engineer. Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts.
Abrams, New York, 2013. 32 pp. $16.95, C$18.95, £10.99. ISBN
9781419708459.
Rosie dreams of becoming an engineer. Then her favorite uncle laughs at
her snake-repelling cheese hat. And after the cheese-copter she builds so
that her great-great-aunt (who’d helped assemble airplanes during World
The board-book’s more than 80 flaps open to display
answers to questions (the Moon orbits Earth because
“gravity pulls small objects to big ones”), additional
tidbits (“About a million Earths could fit inside the
Sun”), and occasional enthusiastic remarks (under a
space station porthole: “Amazing view!”). Lifting some
flaps reveals another underneath them. Such nested
flaps are best used in describing the Moon’s phases
and conveying a feeling of discovery that seems
appropriate to space missions such as Galileo and
Voyager 1. Most important, the book unflinchingly
reveals the unknown: “No one knows just how big
space is, not even the very best scientists.” With so
much still to discover, readers may find themselves
eager to lift the flap with the book’s final question: “How can I become
an astronaut?” – Jennifer Sills
10.1126/science.1247709
War II) can fly crashes to the ground, she vows, “Never! Not ever again will I
try to build something.” But her aunt proclaims that flop a “perfect first try”—
because, as engineers well know, the road to success is paved with failures. Told
through Beaty’s rhymes and Roberts’s playful art, this tale of creativity and
persistence will delight readers five and (way) up.
CREDI T: COUR TESY ABRAMS BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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