Mercury

July 1, 2002
Gr 2-3-Pre-senting specific information in simple language and large, bright photos or art, these outstanding starter volumes provide sturdy bases upon which to build a lifelong interest in matters extraterrestrial. Rau opens each one with a history of the planet's Earth-based observation; discusses in turn its orbit, structure, moons (if any), and space missions past and future; then closes with a fact summary, a bulleted set of additional notes, and generous lists, mostly annotated, of recent books, Web sites, and places to write or visit. The pictures are, with a few exceptions, enhanced-color composite photos, sometimes with superimposed labels or diagram lines, always with captions that reinforce points made in the main text. The level of detail is nicely calibrated to inform and fascinate readers without overwhelming them. For instance, the author names and profiles Jupiter's four "Galilean" moons but only mentions the fact that there are at least 12 others. Free of hyperbole and vague generalizations, these titles belong on any budding astronomer's reading list, between Joanna Cole's The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System (Scholastic, 1990) and Seymour Simon's titles on the individual planets (Morrow).-John Peters, New York Public Library

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