U-X-L Science Fact Finder: 1

VOYA - Marilyn Brien

This three-volume set answers 750 science-related questions. There is a topical listing for each chapter and a cumulative index at the end of each volume to assist the reader in locating desired information. Each entry gives the source(s) for that information, with those sources listed as a cumulative list for Further Reading. I am disappointed that about half of the entries are from pre-1990 publications and several are from pre-1980 publications. Many sources are other dictionaries or encyclopedias. The simplification and brevity in scientific explanations sometimes results in information that may be misinterpreted. There are several facts in these volumes that are questionable or incomplete, including the statement that the CAT scan "enables doctors to find brain tumors, blood clots, or other brain disorders" and "igneous rocks are limited to being of volcanic origin," which is misleading because it does not include the formation of igneous rock from molten magma that solidifies below the surface in the mountain building process. There is some material that may be difficult to find in most science books, including an excellent entry on patents and trademarks, but my preference would be for three books in specific areas of science, such as one of Robert Gardner's books on science experiments, the Great Minds of Science series from Enslow, or the new Invisible Enemies (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998). Volume 1: The Natural World. Volume 2: The Physical World. Volume 3: The Technological World. Illus. Photos. Charts. Further Reading.

School Library Journal

Gr 5 UpPresented entirely in question-and-answer format, this bulky survey of old and new science ranges over topics as diverse as human cloning, global warming, "Napier's bones," and the wood from which Noah's ark was supposedly built. Each of the three consecutively paged volumes opens with the same indigestible lists of books for further reading (organized in one lengthy alphabet) and online sources, and closes with a full index. Within 85 general topics the questions are grouped roughly by subject. Every answer ends with a complete source citation and information is repeated as necessary, helping in part to overcome the lack of "see" references. Unfortunately, the entries show signs of careless editing. For example, in a table of largest and smallest animals, "rodent" and "mammal" are listed separately, and the smallest of the latter is supposedly the 1.2 meter Buffeo dolphin; in a constellation chart a column is inexplicably given over to the "Genitive" form of each constellation's Latin name; and the entire set is sprinkled with poorly phrased questions, such as "How much wood is used to make a ton of paper?" Neither the frequent boxed questions nor the many photos and other illustrations, all murky black and white, do much to enhance the book's visual appeal. Though of some value as an "idea book" or springboard for research, this set should be considered for purchase only after conventional science encyclopedias, such as the Raintree Steck-Vaughn Illustrated Science Encyclopedia (1997).John Peters, New York Public Library