Life As We Know It

June 4, 2012
Winston has plenty to share about the diversity of life on Earth in this informative and eye-catching book, which begins with Earth’s formation billions of years ago and continues to the present day, exploring cells, the animal kingdom, ecosystems, food chains, and creatures that tolerate extreme conditions (including bacteria that thrive in volcanic pools and coffinfish that live under high pressure on the sea floor). The book’s full-color, graphically intensive design incorporates numerous photographs, sidebars, crisp digital art, and light humor, usually in the form of speech-bubble captions for the animals. Ages 7–up.

August 1, 2012

Gr 4-8-This visually appealing book, teeming with crisp, color images, provides readers with an introduction to the vast varieties of life on Earth and the possibilities beyond our planet. The text is arranged into five sections: "The meaning of LIFE," "The VARIETY of life," "Living TOGETHER," "Secrets of SURVIVAL," and "The OTHER SIDE of life." Some of the topics covered include basic cell structure, the six kingdoms, photosynthesis, habitats, migration, and ecosystems. Brief paragraphs of information appear across each spread on bright, eye-catching backgrounds and with a plethora of color photographs. The layout lends itself well to casual browsing, while still offering readers plenty of useful information. Children will be especially amused by the speech bubbles used throughout to lend a comical voice to key figures and an assortment of animals and plants. For example, a black widow spider warns readers: "Beware-I'm small but deadly!" The vibrant layout and accessible and engaging text are sure to attract young readers.-Maren Ostergard, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2012
Grades 3-7 This encyclopedic work gives an overview of nearly every aspect of life through bits of information couched in a dazzling design that mixes bright colors, eye-catching photos, and plentiful diagrams. Topics include the beginning of life, the natural elements, the six kingdoms, evolution, various types of coexistence among living things, methods of survival, unusual forms of life, and speculation about life in other universes. With so much to cover in under 100 pages, and with some topics taking up several pages each (for example, there is ample information about cells, their parts, and how they function), brevity is nearly always a necessity. Working through the book gives one the feeling of moving through a museum, with the bits of information attached to the photos and diagrams reading like informative captions to exhibits. Although a brief glossary and an index are included, this is designed for browsing and leisure reading more than it is for researchand it succeeds on that count.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)