Robots in Space

Gr 1–3—These slim works examine robots that complete a variety of intriguing tasks, from exploring Mars to photographing the human body. Some robots, however, appear to be little more than amusing toys, and there's scant information on them; for instance, the author of Robots on the Job doesn't elaborate on how the SushiBot can "[make] 300 sushi rolls each hour." The only explanation of what robots are or how they work appears in each title's glossary ("a machine that can do work and is operated by remote control or a computer."). Text is on the spare side, and readers will be hard pressed to make sense of some of the accompanying photographs, which vary in clarity. There's too little content here to support students in pursuing the critical thinking questions at the end of each book. The cool concept here sinks in the vague and sketchy treatment.