In this tête-bêche format nonfiction tome, with the day content facing one way and night accessible from the flip side, Claybourne offers insight into day and night, with a brief introduction and 14 single spread-length chapters dedicated to each. Claybourne presents concise, well-organized sections that young readers will find enticing, including ancient beliefs about the sun and nighttime legends, storm and space facts, and unusual objects that have fallen or have been spotted in the skies. Simple prose keeps the information accessible: -A rocket launch can happen during the day or night, but at night it-s easier to see the path of the rocket from its trail of burning fuel.- Detailed, well-spaced illustrations from Hyndman, rendered in a style rich in painterly chiaroscuro, will further engage readers. Though the book-s breadth leaves its depth slightly wanting, supplemental projects and experiments in the sidebars add a welcome interactive quality to this well-designed primer. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Gr 4-8 This primer designed to explore and understand what appears in the sky during night and day unfortunately falls short. Each section has chapter headings that do not work to complement one another. What could have been a good STEAM addition with "DIY" panels is uneven. The projects are either too simple for the target audience or too difficult and dangerous. The pronoun "we" is used too often with no source identification. There are some generalizations made with no evidence to back them up. For example, on the page about planes, the text reads that because jet fuel contributes to greenhouse gases, we will have to fly less in the future. Although there are plenty of fun facts presented, the overall effect is one of a disjointed, surface-level hodgepodge. The illustrations are full-color and depict a variety of skin tones, but all the faces are blurry or indistinct. The drawings generally are not sharp in style. The book can be read day skies or night skies first by flipping it around. While this technique can be used to great advantage, here it is just gimmicky. VERDICT An additional purchase where this topic is in high demand. National Geographic Kids 2021 Almanac would be a better choice. Elisabeth LeBris, Kenilworth SD 38, Winnetka, IL