Jacob Berkowitz

Excellent and thought-provoking read about the origins of all things--living and non-living. I had never thought about myself, or humankind in general, as being so connected to the entire cosmos, though I long ago understood that all the elements came from the stars, and therefore so do we, I never truly thought about the implications behind the fact.

This book was wonderfully readable (ie. not too technical), while still being incredibly informative about the scientific discoveries and show more history involved. Highly recommended! show less

This book was one of the funniest that I read. While it was hilarious it was also very interesting. What child would pass up a book about poop? It uses illustrations and actual photos to show fossils and how animal poop becomes fossils which can give us plenty of information about the past. Paired with the illustrations and photos are many pages of easy to read informational text that children will enjoy and learn from.

This caught my eyes because I found that children have a odd fetish with the words fart and poop so I know a book about dinosaur poop would be right up there alley. Gross! Still it's educational as it talks facts about dinosaurs and what they left behind for us to discover. Has real illustrations as well as drawn ones meant to be quirky for kids.

Now, a couple of quick nonfiction reviews. First, we have a book on the exploration of outer space -and beyond. Out of This World: The amazing search for an alien earth focuses mainly an astrobiologist and astrophysicists' searches for a planet that can sustain life. It's full of interesting facts and explanations of how scientists explore the farthest edges of the universe. A glossary and index is included, but no bibliography or further resources. I was disappointed that the book didn't show more explain until near the end that most of the pictures are artist's representations and I didn't think they made it clear which were "real". I found the layout and design very dated, from the font of the headings to the dopey little cartoon character zooming around the pages. To me, that screams "I was written in the 80s!" Of course, the fact that I weeded masses of 70s and 80s nonfiction last summer means I'm a bit prejudiced...

Out of this world: The amazing search for an Alien Earth by Jacob Berkowitz
ISBN: 978-1554531974; Published September 2009 by Kids Can Press; Review copy provided by the publisher through Raab Associates

Our second book is an easy reader biography of Harry Houdini. It's labeled as "level 3 read alone" easy reader, and the vocabulary and content is suitable for the reading level. It contains many interesting facts about Houdini's life and focuses on his amazing escapes. However, I found the illustrations very blah and without character. In my library, most of the kids looking for biographies need something at least 100 pages long. However, if you have younger kids interested in Harry Houdini, this is a good starter biography.

Harry Houdini by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by John Mantha
ISBN: 978-1554532995; Published August 2009 by Kids Can Press; Review copy provided by the publisher through Raab Associates

Verdict: These books are fine if you have a need for more information in these areas, but I'd recommend getting Sid Fleischman's Escape and Ellen Jackson's Looking for Life in the Universe, first. show less