October 13, 2008

Easy Genius Science Projects with Chemistry: Great Experiments and Ideas. Robert Gardner. (Illus.; from the Easy Genius Science Projects Series.) Enslow, 2008. 112pp. 2007038469. ISBN 978-0-7660-2925-5. Glossary; Index; C.I.P. ++ EA, JH, GA

This small book, 112 pages, is written for the upper elementary student who is curious about the world around him/her. It is also an excellent resource for students looking for ideas for a science fair or project. The investigation used in the book have background material and ideas for further investigation and could easily spark ideas from the investigator as well. As small glossary is included for the use of the student. Safety precautions are listed and the reason for these precautions is provided.
While this book is designed for younger students, the language used is scientific and at no time is the science or terminology"dumbed down" just because it is for kids. The mathematics used is explained and worked out using mathematics that a fourth or fifth grade student could be expected to perform. Illustrations are bright and useful in explaining techniques and the equipment used is material that would be found in the home or the majority of classrooms.
This book is one of a five part series of science investigations. The other titles investigate Weather, Electricity, Light, and the Human Body. These would be an excellent resource for the home library or the classroom. --Janice Weber, retired, Southeast Technical Institute, Sioux Falls, SD

Human Origins: What Bones and Genomes Tell Us About Ourselves. Rob Desalle and Ian Tattersall. (Illus.) Texas A&M, 2008. 216pp. $29.95. ISBN 978-1-58544-567-7. Index; C.I.P. + C, T

A companion to an American Museum of Natural History permanent exhibit, this tour-de-force text cohesively merges information from paleoanthropology and molecular biology to tell the story of human origins. While the writing is clear and littered with witty comments, the sheer mass and density of material may overwhelm younger or more casual readers. The authors clearly try to make science fun, illustrating Watson and Crick as bobbleheads (p. 57) and including a recipe for isolating DNA using yeast and household products (p. 56), a test of cladistic tree-making (p. 97), and colorful illustrations throughout. The book covers topics from basic scientific reasoning through to simple genetics and fossil lineages, ending with the influence of language and culture on human history. Presenting paleoanthropology solely in the context of Popperian science that focuses on hypothesis testing and falsifiability, the book states that the cladist perspective with its focus on par
simony and shared, derived traits is preferred for the study of human origins over phylogenetic methods that use overall similarity for classification: this is not true for all biologists. The information presented is accurate from the cladistic viewpoint, but some evolutionary schemes stated as general consensus (e.g., species recognition, Neanderthal/Homo interbreeding, 3 Domains replacing 5 or 6 Kingdoms) are not accepted by scholars who define species using traditional taxonomic methods, and these dissenting opinions are not represented. This is problematic for competing viewpoints, but allows for a relatively streamlined presentation. DeSalle and Tattersall have produced an informative text for an advanced audience. --Nikki L. Rogers, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH

Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World. Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. (Illus.) Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 30pp. $16.00. 2007034305. ISBN 978-0-618-37596-7. C.I.P. + EI

Having a sibling is pretty neat. This book discusses siblings in the animal world. Animal siblings have a variety of relationships ranging from playing with each other to fighting to the death for food. Sisters and Brothers examines the range of sibling relationships with paragraph descriptions and engaging illustrations. The animals discussed include elephants, bats, lizards, termites, cheetahs, crocodiles and others, making up quite an eclectic group. At the end there is a section with interesting facts about the animals covered in the book and a list of suggested readings.
There are two subtleties: 1. nine-banded armadillo siblings are referred to as clones, perfect copies of each other. While they are identical copies of each other, they are not clones in the strict biological sense, which involves asexual reproduction. 2. Termite offspring are referred to as brothers and sisters in the same context as siblings in the rest of the book. Social insects, such as termites share a mother but depending on the caste to which each termite belongs, there may in fact, not be a father, no less a father shared by all the siblings.
Not withstanding these two very subtle issues, this is a most engaging book that young readers will enjoy. Parents of siblings will want to read this book as a family. Children-oriented libraries should certainly include this book on their shelves. --Edward Saiff, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ

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