What a fantastic book this is. Its target age range of 9 to 13-year-olds is far too narrow: everyone will want to read this one. Crime Fighting explains the work of the forensic scientist. As Ian Graham says: ‘The smallest trace of evidence at the scene of a crime can help the forensic detectives in their behind the scenes search for the criminal.’ He shows the science and technology that lies behind the tests, techniques and equipment used to investigate all kinds of clues, from fibres and fingerprints to firearms and documents.’

That there is a keen market for this book, I do not doubt. Whether it’s Inspector Morse or Miss Marple – it seems that every-one is at it these days, trying to solve crime, puzzling over the latest whodunit. With this book, children now have the chance to understand how the real forensic scientists do just that.

It is not often that you find a book where it is so obvious that care, attention and consideration has been made to all aspects of the book: text, illustrations, presentation and general readability. The text is extremely well-researched and presented in an interesting and manageable way. The chapters are a suitable length with eye-catching headings and concise introductions. Whether it’s explaining the intricacies of genetic fingerprinting ‘used by the police and forensic scientists as a way of linking suspected criminals with their crimes’ or exploring the techniques of entomologists who help to estimate the date a crime took place by studying the activity of insects in and around a corpse, the text is at all times uncomplicated and easy to follow.

Important discoveries and their inventors, such as the rhesus factor in blood, discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1900 and the test used to re-examine written records to see if they have been tampered with, are highlighted in ‘History Spotlights’ in each chapter. The clear diagrams and the magnificent colour photographs all play their part in making this remarkable book so inviting and appealing. Each of its 45 pages, including glossary and index, is packed with information. Priced at £8.95, I certainly don’t think you could question its value for money. So, whether you are going to buy Crime Fighting for an interested older junior child, a class of children, a school library, or for the book shelf at home, I’d hurry up and do so if I were you before they’re all sold out.

Alison Goodman teaches at Thornhill Primary School, London.

Frances Balkwill begins Amazing Schemes Within Your Genes by asserting our
uniqueness: ‘Think of all the people you know and see every day. . . then
think of all the people who live in villages, towns and cities throughout
your country. Then try to imagine all the millions of people who live in the
world. If you could line them all up, the queue would stretch from the Earth
to the Moon – and back again – six times. And the amazing fact is. . . not
one of those five billion other people looks, thinks or behaves exactly like
you. You are completely unique.’

She ends insisting on our brother and sisterhood: ‘Whether our skins are
light or dark, our hair black or fair, whether we now live in the Arctic or
at the equator, the message of our genes tells us that we are brothers and
sisters ALL FIVE BILLION OF US.’ And why? Because of those amazing schemes
within our genes.

The book raises many important issues in the field of genetics, and
introduces children to the work of genetic engineers and their role in
treating sick patients, solving crimes and fighting diseases. It explores
the mystery of mutated genes in hereditary diseases such as cystic fibrosis
and sickle-cell anaemia. Balkwill and Mic Rolph also show how genes evolve,
pointing out that ‘98.4 per cent of your genes are the same as the genes of
any chimpanzee you might see in a wildlife park’.

Despite Balkwill’s use of short sentences to explain the complexities of
protein formation, the perplexities of chromosome division and the
complications of DNA composition, I found many of the concepts covered in
the early parts of the text extremely difficult to grasp – and I have
A-Level biology. Rolph’s original and imaginative illustrations are
unquestionably helpful.

Teachers working with small groups of children would no doubt find this book
useful in providing starting points for discussions about the important
ethical issues surrounding evolution and genetic engineering. There is no
doubt in my mind that this book would also whet the individual appetites of
intelligent, inquisitive and motivated children.

Amazing Schemes Within Your Genes is a companion to DNA Is Here To Stay and
also Cells Are Us and Cell Wars, the joint winners of the 1991 COPUS/Junior
Science Book Prize. It is a praiseworthy attempt to make cell biology and
the complex science of genetics accessible to young readers. I am still
wondering whether or not it does succeed.

Alison Goodman teaches at Thornhill Primary School, in Islington, North
London.

The publisher of Pond, Bird, Minibeast and Garden, says that: ‘Handmade
Habitats is a series of books that shows children how to create environments
for wildlife using simple equipment which children can make themselves.
Whether children live in a town or the countryside – they’ll be able to
make exciting discoveries about the creatures their habitats attract.’
And how right they are!

Paul Wright’s ‘Blue Peter’ approach to scientific exploration is well
thought out and thorough. The books, which are suitable for children between
8 to 11 years old, follow the same format, which is definitely reader friendly,
and illustrated by beautiful photographs.

‘Have you ever looked into a pond in spring?’ asks the author encouragingly
in Pond. What follows is a guided tour through the exciting underwater world
of the common pond. Wright describes its intricate ecosystem clearly, a
delicate balance of plant and animal life, and explains the threat of pollution
to all the pond’s creatures. He coaxes the reader to explore the delights
of pond life, using an empty margarine tub as a mini pond, and home-made
pond-dipping equipment.

The book also contains classification charts, methods of identifying
pond creatures and plenty of ideas about how to restore a pond to health
or reclaim a pond that has been neglected or abandoned.

All the instructions for the technological work are clearly set out
and easy to follow whether you are making a pooter out of a jam jar, two
pieces of plastic tubing and an old net curtain, or simply writing out a
pond survey sheet. Warnings about the potential dangers of pond exploration
are well thought out and easy to read, so too are the precautions you should
consider when using pliers to make pooters or sawing off a piece of broom
handle to make a dipping net to collect samples.

The other books in the series offer children similar opportunities to
explore and investigate the science and nature based topic of habitats.
Garden invites children to plan and plant a colour or sensory garden, grow
plants to attract butterflies and bees, provide shelter for small mammals
and investigate the animals that their garden attracts.

‘Make your own bird garden by building nesting boxes and feeding stations
and by growing plants which will attract birds,’ invites Paul Wright in
Bird. ‘Build a hide so that you can watch birds close-up and collect the
information which will help identify them.’

Minibeasts suggests the reader might like to create indoor and outdoor
minibeast habitats including wormeries, bee boxes, leaf litters and log
piles. The book offers information about making your own sweep-net and tree
trap, and how to devise tests to investigate minibeasts and their behaviour.

All the books in Paul Wright’s Handmade Habitat series are 32 pages
long. They are packed with information and practical ideas that any ‘ecologically
sound’ upper primary school aged child would no doubt snap up. With the
books’ direct relation to the requirements of the Science National Curriculum,
the children will probably have to race to beat their teachers to them.

Alison Goodman teaches at Thornhill School, Islington, London.

Before you groan, ‘Oh no, not another book about the senses,’ read this
one. Kay Davies and Wendy Oldfield are well aware that they are not the
first authors to have written a children’s book on the subject. And that
is why Wayland’s The Senses is so good.

It covers the five main senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch,
and shows how we use them to build up a picture of the world around us.

The attractively titled, short chapters, such as ‘Ouch!’ and ‘What a
pong!’ entice the young child to read on. Through gentle questioning the
authors encourage a thorough and exciting investigation into many scientific
topics. With easy-to-follow instructions, children are invited to set up
simple experiments exploring subjects such as texture: optical illusions,
how we see at night and lots, lots more.

Beautiful, full-page colour photographs at the start of each chapter
encourage the reader to look and look again, whether it’s at the underground
mole, the smelly skunk or the fast-moving intercity train.

Materials is written along similar lines to The Senses. It introduces
children to the wide variety of materials in our world, in all their diverse
shapes, sizes and forms. It gives information and activities on a selection
of gases, solids and liquids. The authors also suggest ways of investigating
natural and synthetic materials; how they are used and ‘the importance of
conserving them for the future’. Ideas range from tabulating objects made
from materials that were once or never alive, to making ‘jelly jollies’
with moulded plastic trays from chocolate boxes.

The Senses and Materials are two books in the ‘Starting Science’, a
series that aims to provide an introduction to science enquiry methods for
primary school children. The authors, constantly aware of the requirements
of the Science National Curriculum and the increasing pressures on teachers,
have taken great pains to list the relevant Attainment Targets covered in
part in their books.

Great care has also been taken to make both books user friendly: all
complicated or difficult words are written in bold type and are explained
in the glossary at the end of each book.

What I found sad about the books is their length. Both contain 32 pages,
but when you discount the index and contents pages, you are left with 28
pages, of which 13 are full-page photographs! These are interesting starting
points for discussion but, unfortunately, that only leaves the reader with
15 pages of text.

Alison Goodman teaches at Thornhill School, Islington, London.

All primary school children know that teachers can do everything. But
for those of us who can’t Let’s Draw Dinosaurs is a godsend. ‘Come dinosaur
hunting!’ say the authors. ‘Meet lots of amazing prehistoric giants . .
. then discover how to bring them to life as if by magic.’

‘The dinosaur story’, in Part 1, puts dinosaurs into an historical context.
It informs the reader of where and when dinosaurs lived and of what they
looked like. It is brief and simple, dealing with basic, generic facts.
More detailed information on specific dinosaurs follows in later chapters.

What sort of paper is best to draw on? How can you use pencils, chalks,
crayons and paints to achieve different effects? What about drawing with
ink? The answers to these and many other questions to do with ‘Getting ready
to draw’ are found in Part 2.

The book clearly sets out information on good places to draw, suitable
tools and media, special effects and textures, each on a separate double-page
spread. Enlarging drawings, copying and tracing methods and techniques are
simply and sensibly explained, and there are diagrams and ‘handy hints’
along the way.

‘Drawing dinosaurs is easy’ claims the book in Part 3. To my astonishment,
it really is, using the step-by-step stages. Start with a few circles and
gradually add ovals and lines, and in no time at all even I had built up
a picture. It really was ‘as simple as that’. With success behind me, I
was encouraged to tackle silhouettes, skeletons, moving dinosaurs, and even
angles and perspective.

The final part of this action-packed book, and perhaps the most exciting,
is the ‘Dinosaur gallery’. Here, the reader is presented with more than
30 dinosaurs to look at and copy. And they are not just the old familiar
favourites.

Each dinosaur or prehistoric creature is accompanied by a short description
about its appearance, size or fossil location. And there are plenty of novel
ideas about drawing creatures grouped together, or showing them fighting
or grazing. Once again the book contains lots of expert hints, with special
tips to make the drawing as easy as can be. There’s even a subsection on
creating and naming your own dinosaurs.

Let’s Draw Dinosaurs, Pterodactyls and Other Prehistoric Creatures is
for adults and children alike. The authors seem to have thought of everything.
All the dinosaurs’ names have easy-to-read transliterations and are written
in bold for quick reference. The page numbers are large, which will help
children find their way easily to a drawing. The instructions are friendly
and encouraging, and the ideas really are manageable.

The book is certainly user-friendly, and at less than £5 I would
say it’s a must for every primary school library and staff room bookshelf.

Alison Goodman teaches first-year juniors at Thornhill School, Islington.

At least once in primary school, children face the topic ‘ourselves’
because the body and its many functions lend themselves so well to scientific
exploration. Teachers enjoy the obvious delight children find in discovering
their height and weight, or how their eyes and ears work. The subject is
almost endless, and children unearth a wealth of information. but how many
primary school children ever go into the detail of what bodies are made
of?

Cells Are Us and its companion Cell Wars are an attempt by Fran Balkwill
and Mic Rolph to make cell biology and the intricacies of the neuron and
axon (seldom tackled before secondary school) accessible to the younger
reader.

Cells Are Us introduces the reader to the idea that humans, that is,
multicellular organisms, are made up of ‘zillions and zillions’ of cells,
each with a specific function. Through detailed illustrations the book shows
how one cell, as it divides, becomes two, four, eight and so on until a
whole body evolves: ‘you’. Balkwill then looks at skin, muscle, nerve, bone
and blood cells.

‘The Defenders’, that is, the neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes,
form the basis for the second of the two books Cell Wars. These three types
of cell and their functions are described clearly at the beginning of the
book. The reader follows them as they deal with public enemies numbers one
and two: viruses and bacteria. We watch as they ‘chomp’, ‘gulp’ and ‘burp’
their way through the measles, hepatitis and cold viruses; then they ‘scrunch’,
‘thwop’ and ‘bash’ the bacteria that cause tummy upsets, boils and meningitis.

The book also tackles way to reduce the growth of bacteria through careful
food storage, and introduces the reader to other forms of protection such
as immunisation.

Rolph’s modern and attractive illustrations play an integral part in
both books. His colourful depictions of flue viruses and gobbling neutrophils
are detailed and informative. With their nonsexist, multicultural illustrations
they should appeal to all children. The seven to eight year olds that I
teach enjoyed them.

The texts of both books rely heavily on the illustrations for extra
clarification but are friendly and approachable. Balkwill tries to make
complex biological processes appealing and accessible to young learners.
She provides children with specialist knowledge that can serve only to enhance
their learning in the future.

But I was puzzled by the age group that she intends to reach with Cells
Are Us and Cell Wars. The picture-book style obviously aims to attact the
younger reader (7 to 11 years old), yet the subject matter, text and reading
level become so complicated at times that they would suit older children
better. These older children might find the books, busy style too young
for them. A school would benefit from having them around but I would recommend
them for the inquisitive and intelligent reader rather than for general
classwork with a group.

Alison Goodman teaches juniors at Thornhill School, Islington.