Mars Missions

April 1, 2017
Gr 5-8-Middle schoolers with stars in their eyes will gravitate toward this informative set that explores aspects of space from the physical to the theoretical. Familiar topics dedicated to astronauts and missions to Mars are included alongside less common ones, including space garbage, privatized space travel, and black holes. All the titles include up-to-date content as recent as 2016, making them fresh and relevant. Dynamic photographs and historical images complement the text and are supplemented with artists' renderings, diagrams, and charts. VERDICT A thoroughly researched and authoritative addition to science collections.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Space is a perennially high-interest topic, and although there are plenty of series on the subject, these titles in the Space Discovery Guides series stand out from the crowd with plenty of up-to-date content, engaging layouts, and a lively tone. Mars Missions lays out the technical challenges of traveling to Mars, discoveries made by rovers in the past couple of decades, and projects currently in the works to eventually send humans to the red planet. Each title is packed with photos and diagrams, all of which are clearly labeled, but the real star is the fascinating, current information, which fills every page. Space-obsessed kids will find plenty to wonder over in these slim but meaty volumes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)