This book is as important as it is wonderful. It brings home the Big Secret about science that escapes most people: Science is about the unknown, not the known. There are lots of mysteries out there; the business of science is to change the unknown into the known, which is the lesson, I think, of Franklyn Branley's masterpiece.

In 1990, my husband went to the library and brought home " gravity is a mystery" for our son to read. He loved it! It was his favorite book for weeks! Every night one of us would have to read it to him. This is a fun book that everyone should get a chance to read.

I recently read this book to a five-year-old little boy who absolutely loved the book. He was intrigued by the pictures (especially the lady with the garbage stuck to her rear-end)and kept finding "clues" to how the story would end. He really enjoyed the plot and the humor. The Warville Wizard spurred on great conversations about litter and pollution. The only downfall is that the book doesn't go into why you shouldn't litter other than for the asthetic value of a clean world. But overall, this was a super book.

Great story to use for Earth Day. Humorous. Lends itself to other classroom activites.

This was one of my favorite childhood books. The pictures are fantastic and help young children take part in the telling of the story. Adults will love the plot as well. I was thrilled to get a copy of this! Thanks Amazon!

This book is the autobiography of a man who in his own words was "a liftime .235 hitter." But oh what a .235 hitter! A man who played with Jackie Robunson, Pee Wee Reese, and several other famous Brooklyn Dodgers, who while managing the Red Sox had a pitcher who called him a "gerbil," and dealt with a "clueless owner" while managing the Rangers, and who was fortunate enough to be part of the Yankees' late 90s dynasty. And the stories he tells in this book are ones worthy of a man who has been in baseball over 50 years. His times with the Dodgers, his reign as manager of the perenially hopeless Chicago Cubs, his times as bench coach with the Yankees. And yet he has a kind word for virtually everyone he has either played with or against, or managed or coached, with the exception of Bill Lee. It's apparent the two did not get along, then again I'm not sure how I'd handle being called a "gerbil" either.

This book shows "Zim" to be a delight both on and off the baseball field and a man who has seen virtually everything in his baseball life.

Zim: A Baseball Life is a great read for any baseball fan. Don Zimmer is a true gem, his wisdom, knowledge, and humor are all found in this wonderful book. Sports fans of all ages would enjoy this book.

Who's the answer to more baseball trivia questions than anyone else in history? Don Zimmer, of course. "Zim: A Baseball Life" is 52 years' worth of anecdotes from the one guy who's been everywhere and seen it all.

Zim's the only man to have been in uniform at all three New York Yankees' perfect games (the first and last of which were 43 years apart); he played a pivotal role in the Brooklyn Dodgers' lone World Series victory (by coming out of the game early); he was the first to play third base for the New York Mets (hundreds have followed, and, like Zim, none lasted very long); and he managed the 1978 Boston Red Sox when Bucky Dent hit that pop fly over the Green Monster on October 2nd.

"Zim" is a fast read, spilling over with Zim stories on every page. It's written on a very simple level, but is meticulously researched and, as a result, is completely authoritative. A couple of factual errors pop up, yes, which co-writer Bill Madden probably could have caught (Zim is said to have received roses when the Yankees won the 1999 season opener; news that is surprising when you remember the Yanks lost that game), but overall the errors, like strands of Zim's hair, are few and far between.

The 2002 baseball season is about to begin and, no surprise, Zimmer will be there in uniform again. He's a funny guy (and a funny-looking guy) and it does the troubled sport of baseball a world of good that Zimmer is still around, the link between Pee Wee Reese and Derek Jeter, Clem Labine and Mariano Rivera, Sal Maglie and Roger Clemens, Walter O'Malley and George Steinbrenner. Here's hoping Zim has another half-century's worth of stories left in that massive belly of his.

This bright and cheerful book is filled with several learning possibilities == animal names, animal sounds, names of colors, how to share, and the tolerance of those different from yourself. The story is about a stormy night on the farm when the animals want to crawl into bed with the farmer and his wife to keep warm and dry. But once the skunk tries to join them, all the animals run back outside, leaving the farmer and wife and skunk all cozy in the bed. The animals learn it's better to share than have none at all. The illustrations are wonderful and the book is a combination of text and rhyme, perfect for reading aloud in funny voices. I recommend it!

This story offers a wonderful way to teach children about the risks of passing judgments. A group of farm animals excludes a poor skunk until a good downpour and the lure of a warm, dry feather bed forces them to rethink their skunk stereotype. In the end, they realize they can all be friends. My 3-year-old daughter loves the rhyme (and a chance to yell, "skunk!"). The hilarious illustrations are fun as well.

This story offers a wonderful way to teach children about the pitfalls of passing judgments. A group of farm animals excludes a poor skunk until a good rain and the lure of a warm, dry feather bed forces them to rethink their stereotype of the skunk. My 3-year-old daughter loves the rhymes, and the pictures are hilarious as all of the farm animals crowd into one bed.

Someone calls this an "odd combination," why, what child isn't fascinated by toilets? The book offers excellent, non-technical explanations for kids with enough detail to keep things interesting. For example, the telephone section (15 pages) mentions sound waves, diaphragms, and radio waves; the television section concisely explains the mixing of color light waves, as well as the transmitter, the antenna, and cable TV, and the section on toilets not only contains a sly reference to Virginia Woolf's "Flush," but explains the basic mechanics of the handle, the float, the rubber stopper, the septic tank, and the plunger (when things get stuck). A nice combination of whimsy and fact, this is an excellent book for the young scientist and the merely curious. Adults may learn from it as well. With 47 pages, simple (but not "amateurish") illustrations, and a one-page index!

This book gives an easy-to-understand explanation of how telephones, televisions, and toliets work. The book is written for children, but adults can benefit from reading this book as well (I often understand a subject better by reading a "children's" book on the subject). The book contains some cartoonish illustrations that make the explantions less dry and there are also several diagrams that make the technical knowledge much easier to understand. The three subjects in the book not only all start with the letter "t", but they also all function in a cyclical fashion. This is a great science book for young kids and is sure to spark some sort of interest into technology in a youngster's mind.

I am a huge fan of Incognito and I remember listening to the books on tape as a young child. I have been trying to get a lock down on where I can get the tape again, but have had no luck. If anyone has any idea where I can find it, please let me know. Thanks.

Are you interested in puns? Do you admire cleverness? Incognito Mosquito incorporates these qualities into each buggy case but needs your help to solve each mystery. Catch Incognito Mosquito before he flies again! Joel Barker, 11 years old

This funny mosquito is a detective who solves crimes in all places. He gets stuck in STICKY situations and all of them get resolved. I read this book when I was 10 and I really recommend it for the ages between 8-14.

I found this book to be very good because it made this paticular part of math understandable and interesting.

By relating famous hoaxes such as the radio broadcast of H.G. Well's War of the Worlds and discussing recent space probes to Mars, Mercury and Venus, Branley comes to the conclusion that there might be life beyond Earth... but not in our solar system. While he admits there may be possibilities of life in other galaxies, he claims there most likely isn't life in our solar system except for what exists on Earth. This is an outdated and inaccurate view. The goal of the series is to introduce basic science concepts to young children, but the only concept I came away with was very Earth-centric - none of our species could live on Mars, ergo, there is no life on Mars. Branley never defines life. In truth, we cannot assume "life" to be carbon based, requiring warm temperatures and sunlight. In fact, on our very own planet we have found species that do not require these things. Instead of writing "there is no life on Mars," Branley should have written, "There is no life as we know it today on Mars. If this idea is too scary for young children, perhaps there isn't a need for a low-level book on this topic. At the least, the book serves as a jumping off point for an interesting discussion. The authorial intrusion in the book ("People also say it's silly to believe there is life on them [other planets]. I don't think so.") is annoying and condescending. The writing is too simplified; children could handle more details than are given about the planets, the space program, and the various ways alien life has been envisioned in our culture. The illustrations are a bizarre mix of simple brightly colored collage style pictures and photographs. The diagram of the solar system is great, and whimsical aliens decorate the end papers and many pages. A page of further activities concludes the book. No works are cited, no resources for more information are listed. A glossary, index and timeline would have been appropriate inclusions. This book was originally published in 1984; it needs much more overhaul than it received.

This book talks in children's words about a subject that adults learned so long ago that they may have forgotten. The artistic side of the book keeps children entertained without taking away from the subject content. My five year old loves this book.