ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

The physics behind baseball is the focus of this title in the Sports Illustrated: The Science of Sports series. A "Balls and Bats" section includes explanations of velocity and inertia, for instance, while an "Offense" section links discussions of gravity with base-stealing techniques. A chapter on "Defense" uses pitching examples to discuss concepts such as torque and topspin, while many other topics, including equipment, injury risks, and the grass-versus-turf debate, are also creatively explored. The well-designed layout, featuring glossy color visuals, including action photos, diagrams, and sidebars, is visually stimulating, and the concepts are further reinforced in brief definitions that appear at the bottom of many pages and in an appended glossary. Students may need more explanation than what is offered here to grasp some of the more challenging math and physics, but the clever approach will help draw interest and build understanding. Reading suggestions and an index close this natural choice for curricular use.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

These books explore the science at work behind each sport, for which friction, velocity, and momentum all play integral parts of the game. Readers learn, for example, how the Magnus effect allows pitchers to throw curveballs and helps David Beckham "bend" his soccer kicks. The books' photograph-heavy design works to engage its audience, while the easy-to-read texts explain the science. Reading list. Glos., ind.

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

BISKUP, Agnieszka Football: How It Works chart. diags. ISBN 978-1-4296-4022-0 . LC 2009032782. BISKUP, Agnieszka . Hockey: How It Works ISBN 978-1-4296-4023-7 . LC 2009042285. DREIER, David Baseball: How It Works diags. ISBN 978-1-4296-4020-6 . LC 2009041341. SLADE, Suzanne Basketball: How It Works chart. diags. ISBN 978-1-4296-4021-3 . LC 2009028508. SOHN, Emily Skateboarding: How It Works diags. ISBN 978-1-4296-4024-4 . LC 2009032783. ea vol: 48p. (Sports Illustrated KIDS: The Science of Sports Series). illus. photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. CIP. Capstone 2010. PLB $29.32. Gr 4-7 Focusing on ideas such as inertia, friction, momentum, and reaction time, this series explains how best to use the equipment related to these sports. For example, Bazemore discusses how knowledge of Newtons laws can help a soccer player bend the balls trajectory, and Biskup explains how quarterbacks should stand and throw in order to make stable passes. Many of the titles also mention how arenas, stadiums, or playing surfaces affect the games. Hockey gives insight into new equipmenta heated skate blade. Dynamic, colorful photographs, often featuring well-known players, help explain the vocabulary. Skateboarding and Soccer provide the least amount of new information. However, Soccer provides an interesting paragraph on the rare flip throw, enhanced with thumbnail photographs. Even though the books sentence structure and appealing design make them appear suitable for younger readers, the concepts behind how the sport is played make prior knowledge of scientific principles necessary. Titles may help readers to understand how to improve their personal skills, but more likely these books will be used as background material for science reports or projects.