Could You Ever Meet an Alien?

School Library Journal

Gr 4-5--China offers a geological history of the Earth and the efforts to probe its interior. Darling writes fluently and fairly specifically of the formation, structure, and composition of the planet; continental drift; plate tectonics; and geological research methods. Sidebar essays on seismology, cave life, and more explore topical byways, and the full-color paintings and photos are bright and relevant (small parts of these are re-used to add a snatch of color to some pages of text). In Alien , Darling discusses the formation of the solar system and the development of life along with UFOs, as well as the so-far-in-vain efforts to see or hear evidence of planets and people circling other suns. Again, side essays and some speculative and exotic full-color pictures add detail. Each book concludes with an improbable project idea and index, but no bibliography or address list. The information in both books is readily available elsewhere, but the titles are definitely intriguing. Good supplemental purchases for browsers and researchers alike. --John Peters, New York Public Library