Smog, Oil Spills, Sewage, and More: The Yucky Pollution Book (Yucky Science)

Maggots, armpits, tapeworms, sewage—if there’s something unfit for the dinner table, chances are the Yucky Science series has it covered. With conversational prose and zany, retro-gross illustrations in the vein of The Ren & Stimpy Show, these volumes provide a painless intro to some serious topics; in this case, pollution. Filthy air, polluted water (the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill is not covered), nonbiodegradable landfills, asbestos, greenhouse gases, and the scourge of “cow farts” are all here. The word poop is used roughly eight million times in these pages, which gives you a sense of both the intended audience and the level of difficulty. In fact, the language sometimes feels too childish: “Drain pipes help to filter out the yucky stuff” is not necessarily as helpful as a more scientifically worded sentence. Kelley’s art, however, is a perfect fit for the material, and “Yikes!” sidebars keep things gregariously gross (“If you blow your nose after a long day of breathing smog, the snot in the tissue may look gray or even black”). Grades 4-6. --Daniel Kraus