The cover of this gorgeous, fat, new book for children boldly claims “with 1,000 recommended Web sites,” and they aren’t kidding. Every page is garnished with wonderful further references for kids to pursue on the Web. This book is as much a fun browser book as it is a helpful reference source. I couldn’t stop turning pages, and I’ve been an adult for some time now.
In 450 packed, oversize, full-color pages, the many authors and contributors manage to cram a pretty fair index of the myriad of scientific topics out there confusing and delighting us. Kids will find well-written, lucid sections on flowerless plants, animal senses, locomotion, reproduction, the nervous system and just about everything else animal or botanical. But the book doesn’t stop with living things. There are beautifully illustrated explanations of the planets of the solar system, the geology of earthquakes, our current notions of the early earth, and the physics of motion. Not surprisingly, such a book includes a nice explanation of how the Internet actually works. Excellent “See for Yourself” sections offer simple, clear experiments and research that keep the book from being “merely” a reference or browser book. It is both hands-on and virtual, a perfect combination for the millennial reader.
