Gr 1-4-These simple concept books are full of pizzazz and wonderfully illustrated with digital graphics that show kids doing typical kid things. The lumberman on the cover of Cut may not be as enticing as the active children depicted on the other titles. The book also has fewer internal pictures of youngsters, although there is a spread of a boy surrounded by wedges of cake, pie, and pizza. Other spreads depict and discuss doorstops, nails, and airplane wings. In Roll, skateboards, playground slides, and roller coasters are used as examples. Best of all is Scoop, which clearly describes several versions of the lever, found in the playground, garage, and kitchen. Tires discusses wheel sizes, gears, cranks, etc. Unfortunately, "axles" is misspelled on the cover. Each book has an activity and "Fun Facts." The FactHound Web sites listed add more information, but don't take kids to any fun, interactive sites. If you have Sally Hewitt's Machines We Use (Children's Press, 1998) or Anne Welsbacher's "Understanding Simple Machines" series (Capstone, 2001), you may not need these books.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.