Life science through infographics

Gr 3-5-A well-designed infographic simultaneously conveys facts and presents their interrelationships in visual ways. With but rare exceptions (such as a graph of multiple star characteristics in Solar System, a representation of the water cycle in Weather, and the occasional pie chart elsewhere), the silhouettes and other figures in these volumes may be done in a pictorial graphic style but are really just illustrations or images inserted to add visual interest. However, each title does offer sheaves of basic information in particularly concentrated form, including topic-expanding closing spreads ("10 Ways to Live Green" in Life Science, for instance), and the resources lists are above average. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Major concepts in biology and ecology are reduced to several short, oversimplified factual statements on brightly colored spreads dominated by graphical illustrations, many of which are difficult to interpret without prior knowledge of the content. Topics ranging from earth biomes to DNA and food webs to environmental conservation are poorly organized or not well supported with explanations. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.