Top secret Spies, codes, capers, gadgets, and classified cases revealed

Gr 4--8--This winning title of tantalizing tidbits provides a hidden vault's worth of information on all things secretive and shadowy. From real-life tools of spycraft like the lipstick pistol to domains of forbidden knowledge like the legendary Area 51, this book offers multiple hooks from STEM to history and everything in between. Authors Boyer and Zimbler dive into the book's dozens of subjects with aplomb, utilizing clever wordplay and a gripping journalistic voice to ensure that every page crackles with fascination. The book is presented as a confidential file that has clandestinely fallen into the hands of the young reader/spy-in-training. The authors follow this theme through by capping each of the eight chapters with DIY breakout activities for readers to apply their knowledge from the preceding text. Chapter 7, "Secret Codes," for instance, ends with a set of three recipes for kids to create their own invisible ink. The book employs a visually stimulating palette of graphics, leading the eye across sidebars, captions, and infographics in an organic fashion that promotes close and enthusiastic reading. The holistic approach to the broad subject--secret information--allows for the usual suspects like ninja and cryptids to appear alongside some truly fun and eye-opening material, from the secret (and dirty) life of housecats to the superstitious rituals of pro athletes. VERDICT A visually stunning book bursting with riddles, intrigue, and history, this must-have nonfiction title is sure to serve as a rabbit hole for readers both reluctant and voracious into a bevy of captivating topics.--Jose Cruz, Shannon Staub P.L., North Port, FL

A wide-ranging skulk down hidden byways of spycraft, history, nature, food, archaeology, and more. The title reflects only the general drift of the contents. Along with quick introductions to codes and ciphers, ninjas, secret agents, tiny cameras, and the like, the authors chuck in spreads on the U.S. president's armored car, the infrastructure of Rome's Colosseum, great white sharks, the Rosetta Stone, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and other foods with secret formulas, women who "dressed as dudes" to disguise their sex, and dozens of other tangential, if crowd-pleasing, topics. Readers eager for mentions of, say, Gitmo, QAnon, or the deep state will be disappointed, but there is an interview with an actual CIA agent as well as some lesser-known spy stuff headed by an entertaining account of a "psychic arms race" between the Cold War rivals. The illustrations, a strong point as usual, mix sharply reproduced photos of people, places, and gear with close-ups of children playing spy--the last an invitation to follow the directions for several "tradecraft"-related projects like making invisible ink or setting up a network of secret informants (all in fun, of course). Human figures in the pictures are diverse of age, sex, and race. Each chapter presents readers with an encoded riddle, answers to which are revealed at the end. Really just a jumble--but expertly designed as browser bait. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.