By Colorado Kids Advisory Board member Blake Rider

Title: The Concise Science Encyclopedia
Editor: Charles Taylor
Art Editor: Julian Holland
Publisher: Kingfisher Publications
Number of Pages: 320

Did you know that clouds are classified by how they look and how tall they are? The Concise Science Encyclopedia can explain the answer to this question and many more. This book is a great reference book. There are nine Chapters ranging from Planet Earth to Human Biology and Materials and Technology to Space and Time. Each chapter has short explanations about many topics. A neat feature is the Facts and Figures section at the end of each chapter that includes lots of definitions and key dates.

This book also has a section called Ready Reference. It contains numbers and measurements, geometric shapes, famous Scientists and Inventions and Discoveries. There is also a glossary and index which helps look up words or to easily find a page with the information you are looking for.

My favorite part of the book are all the illustrations. They helped explain the tons of scientific facts in this book. This book is probably best for kids 8 and up, although younger kids might enjoy all the pictures and illustrations. I would definitely recommend this book for school reports, science experiments, or just if you have ever wanted to impress your friends by looking up in the sky and saying, “Hey, that’s a Cumulonimbus cloud!” (February, 2002)