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CM . . . . Volume XVII Number 8. . . .October 22, 2010. 
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Animal Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
James Bow.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7427-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7412-9 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Animals-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Earth Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
James Bow.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7428-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7413-6 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Earth-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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History Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
Natalie Hyde.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7429-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7414-3 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Civilization, Ancient-Juvenile literature.
World history-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Human Body Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
Natalie Hyde.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7431-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7415-0 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Human physiology-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Space Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
James Bow.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7431-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7416-7 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Astronomy-Juvenile literature.
Solar system-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Technology Mysteries Revealed. (Mysteries Revealed).
Jill Bryant.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-7432-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7417-4 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Technology-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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excerpt:
How do diving beetles breathe underwater?
You cannot breathe in water, but you want to dive underwater. You could hold your breath, but why not take some air with you as you dive? That is what the diving beetle does. It traps an air bubble under its elytra (hard wing cases) which allows it to breathe underwater for about 15 minutes. Diving beetles hang head-down from the surface of quiet ponds waiting for a tasty larva to pass. (From Animal Mysteries Revealed)
If you are looking for something for those junior students who are full of quirky questions, this series is it. Who doesn't want to know if you can transplant a brain, or if aliens have landed on Earth?
Each book in the "Mysteries Revealed" series includes a table of contents, a simple glossary and index, and a Find Out More section with a list of further readings and web sites. Included with the Find Out More section is a half page of facts, tidbits of information that don't answer any of the questions asked in the book but are interesting anyway. Did you know, for example, that the number of stars in the universe is 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000? (From Space Mysteries Revealed.).
(Now if I could only find the answer to what that number is.)
In addition to the glossary at the end of the book, the definition for each highlighted word is printed at the bottom of the page on which the word first appears. This will be a great help to the young reader struggling to understand a new concept, as well as those who just can't slow down long enough to flip to the glossary at the back. A very reader-friendly feature.
The information in these books is likely too eclectic to make them the first books that you will reach for when you have a general research question. However, they will have great appeal to nonfiction readers who enjoy reading to learn. Although each book focuses on questions about a specific field, the questions are organized in very loose categories. If you want your students to do some higher order thinking, ask them to explain the organization. For example, how are the following questions related? The first question is the `chapter heading.`
When is it time to wake up?
What keeps us breathing when we are asleep?
Why do we have two ears but just one nose?
How does the stomach not digest itself?
Why do muscles get tired? (From Human Body Mysteries Revealed.)
Animal Mysteries Revealed answers questions about all types of members of the animal kingdom from dinosaurs to salamanders to unicorns. Like the other books in the series, this book includes colourful hexagonal text boxes with Amazing! facts. For example,
Amazing!
Despite their length giraffes only have seven bones in their neck, just like we do.
A single neck bone in a giraffe is 10 inches (25 cm) long.
This amazing fact is on the page answering the question: Why do giraffes have very high blood pressure? Another unusual question with a very interesting answer.
Earth Mysteries Revealed answers questions about the formation of the Earth, weather, geological occurrences such as earthquakes and volcanoes, and life on Earth and beyond. Scattered throughout this book and the others in the series are quotations and sayings from famous people from Joni Mitchell to Copernicus.
The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.
Mark Twain
The cover of History Mysteries Revealed is a photo of several of the imposing Easter Island heads. History Mysteries Revealed is the only book in this series not having a science focus. The questions in this book deal with civilization and wonders of the world. For example, "Why was the Great Wall of China built?" and "Did Vikings wear horns on their helmets?" This book, like the others in the series, includes colourful History Explained text boxes. The page answering the question, "How did Easter Islanders choose their leaders?" includes a text box with this additional information:
History Explained
Easter Island has many huge and mysterious statues carved out of stone. They have
oversized heads with long noses and ears, small bodies, and no legs. The tallest is more
than 33 feet (10m) high. The statues are thought to show the faces of important dead
rulers and were sacred to ancient islanders.
Human Body Mysteries Revealed begins with questions about the brain and ends with questions about DNA and genes. Like the other books, this book is not intended to provide extensive information on any one topic about the human body, but it is full of the questions that young readers will enjoy finding out about. "Can we see inside a living brain?" "Why can't we live forever?" "Will clones take over the world?"
Space Mysteries Revealed is illustrated with dramatic photos and illustrations explaining what we know about space and how we have come to this knowledge. A historic engraving showing Galileo with his homemade telescope accompanies a History Explained text box. Also included is a quotation from Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon.
Technology Mysteries Revealed answers questions about rubber bands, the invention of the wheel, non-stick pans, and space elevators. Like the other books, Technology Mysteries Revealed gives you enough information to start to understand a topic. If you want more, you will have to use the answers to begin a more in-depth search. If you just want to enjoy the incredible variety of questions and answers about a diverse array of technology topics, all of the books in this series are winners.
The "Mysteries Revealed" series has many things to recommend it. The covers, text layout, photographs and illustrations are all colourful and attention grabbing. If that isn't enough to make you buy these books, how can you resist a series that finally answers the chicken and the egg question? (The answer is revealed on page 20 in Animal Mysteries Revealed, but I don't want to spoil it for you.) Whether purchased separately or as a series, these books should be very popular with your junior nonfiction fans, boys and girls.
Highly Recommended.
Suzanne Pierson is a retired teacher-librarian, currently instructing Librarianship courses at Queen's University in Kingston, ON.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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