School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-This unique series discusses two familiar topics through a new lens. The books provide standard information and focus on photography. The Wright Brothers' early lives and tireless engineering experiments are showcased, and the history of human flight is traced back to the ancient Greeks. Readers will also learn the name of the photographer who captured the historic flight, the type of camera used, and the importance of photographic evidence. Photography gets more technical when the subject is 53 million light-years away. And so does the language. While First Look at a Black Hole details the nature of a black hole and explains what we know about this space element, a lot of the text examines how radio telescopes work. Readers will marvel at the global cooperation, time, and sheer luck required to make the photo work. VERDICT Young readers could have difficulty digesting this series because of the technical terminology and the amount of information. Casual readers may opt for something lighter. However, kids interested in the subjects will learn something new.?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.