Saturn (True Books)

Elaine Landau is the author of several nonfiction books for children.

Grade 4-6-As scientists have recently discovered, it is not always necessary to send probes out into space to learn more about the solar system. Sometimes parts of the solar system come to us, with effects that range from pretty streaks in the night sky to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Though most meteorites have a cometary origin, in Asteroids, Bonar discusses the rocky debris that has taken up closer residence-not just between Mars and Jupiter but all over the inner system-debris that intersects Earth's orbit often enough to engender an international search and mapping effort (not to mention several disaster movies). Landau updates Saturn (Watts, 1991) with a report on observations gathered with the Hubble Space Telescope, plus a chapter on the construction and mission of the Cassini/Huygens probe, currently en route. Both surveys are profusely illustrated with color photos, attended by captions specifying computer manipulations and enhancements, and end with lists of books and Web sites. Bonar's book is flawed by oversimplifications ("Only 60 people have been struck by a meteorite in the last 3000 years." "The risk of dying from an asteroid impact is about the same as the risk of dying from a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or flood") and so makes a weak alternative to Seymour Simon's Comets, Meteors and Asteroids (Morrow, 1998); Landau's title is a surer bet, taking Larry Brimner's Saturn (Children's, 1999) to a higher level of detail.
John Peters, New York Public Library
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