Energy and Power

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

Part of the "How It Works" series, Parker tours the normal forms of power, including coal and oil. While web links are provided for more information, this book does a particularly good job of anticipating more questions, and answering them right away. For example, in the section describing power stations, Parker explains how a turbine works: "A turbine is a device that converts the flow of a fluid, such as superheated stream, or water, into a spinning motion. It has long, slim blades fixed onto a central shaft in a radial pattern, like the spokes of a wheel. Most turbines have several sets of blades. Their sizes and angles are carefully designed to extract the most energy from the steam, which loses speed and pressure as it moves past each set of blades." Each topic is covered in a two-page spread with many pictures, long captions, and boxes of information. There are web links at the top of each double-page spread. While there is no strong narrative, Parker's tone is does a good job of pulling you into the exciting information. Backmatter includes an illustrated glossary, and index. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen