Secrets of Air

“Air softly wraps the Earth where we all live,” opens this overview of the role that air plays in sustaining life on Earth, part of the Science Storybooks series. Warm, softly textured illustrations show the narrator, a blond girl, riding her bike, flying kites, inhaling and exhaling, and—in a spread devoted to pollution—wearing a white mask over her nose and mouth. (“When we breathe polluted air, we may develop skin problems or a headache,” a caption explains.) Sidebars briefly explore how warm air rises, plant and animal respiration, and other topics, and the book concludes with discussion questions and an experiment involving a balloon. A straightforward and effective introduction to the air we breathe. Simultaneously available: Fossils Tell Stories, What Shape Is the Moon?, The Flow of Water, and The Festival of the Sun. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)