Gut-Wrenching Gravity and Other Fatal Forces (Disgusting & Dreadful Science)

Anna Claybourne has written over 150 children's books on all kinds of subjects, from sharks, black holes and splitting the atom to how to draw, Shakespeare's life, and Greek myths and legends. She knows a lot about conservation in the rain forests of Costa Rica as she once volunteered there for threw months. She likes space, sewing and music, plays the trombone and loves going camping.

Part of the Disgusting & Dreadful Science series, this title supplies some of the basics about the “fearsome force” known as gravity. Those titillated by the title will be further drawn by the snazzily designed pages, short patches of creatively arranged text, colorful illustrations, and plenty of white space. The awesome facts—a mouse can survive a 328-foot fall, black holes have superstrong gravity that causes “spaghettification,” and much more—should keep readers glued to the pages. The information is a bit random, and the abrupt ending with no sense of wrap-up confirms this, but this presentation will get the brain ticking and lead to more in-depth research. Blue boxes point out yucky facts and feature easily doable experiments to further investigate some of the aspects of gravity. Grades 3-6. --Randall Enos