Rebel Science

Green presents brief profiles of scientists from across the centuries, demonstrating how their breakthroughs challenged the status quo in a book that has attitude to spare but is scattered in its execution. A zigzagging road, dotted with informational Las Vegas–style “signs,” guides readers through 12 brief chapters covering atoms, light, elements, genetics, and other topics. Between four and six scientists are profiled per spread (women are few and far between). While Green includes intriguing scientific tidbits, and Lyttleton’s angular cartoons have an appealing retro aesthetic, the treatment of the historical discoveries and conflicts feels superficial—a rap battle between Sir Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke (“I’m the Gravitational Guru, and I’m takin’ you down”), for instance, is more confusing than insightful. Ages 8–up. (Mar.)