The Air I Breathe

Kelly L. Green is co-author of The Ethical Shopper’s Guide to Canadian
Supermarket Products and associate editor of the Canadian Book Review
Annual.

This volume from Crabtree’s Primary Ecology Series is visual,
entertaining, and informative. The book covers 15 air-related topics,
including how the human body uses air; how air allows us to process
sound waves; and how wind strength, pollution, ozone, and the layers of
the earth’s atmosphere are measured. All topics are discussed in
clear, simple language, and there are ample, colorful illustrations and
real-life examples to help children consider the importance of air from
a number of different points of view.

The authors have provided many simple activities for children to try,
and a glossary. They discuss a number of modern-day problems—including
the effects of second-hand smoke, the thinning of the ozone layer, and
the greenhouse effect—without being gloomy or hopeless. The book
allows children to consider activities they can pursue not only to learn
about air, but to improve its quality. (The authors come down quite
heavily on smoking, but are relatively easy on automobiles, noting that
they contribute polluting exhaust to the air, but not mentioning the
fact that cars are primary producers of carbon dioxide, and hence a
factor contributing to global warming.)

Bright, appealing, informative, and motivational, this book is an
excellent home and school reference, and a good addition to any
primary-age earth science program. Highly recommended.