Why Do the Seasons Change?

This second book of questions and answers by the Natural History Museum of London (the first, Do Animals Dream?, focused on the animal kingdom) delves into every aspect of the cycles and rhythms of nature, including the creation of the universe and the earth, the changing seasons, the relationships between plants, animals and their environments, and the natural rhythms of human behavior and biology. The text is augmented by clear line drawings and photographs, but some of the early sections on the universe suffer from an excess of abstract numbersmillions and billions of years, miles and degreeswhich does nothing to illuminate or vivify the ideas. Much more successful, however, are the discussions of the lives of humans, animals and plants, including explanations of how bees dance to convey information about pollen sources, and the natural sleep, mood and alertness cycles of people. The book concludes with a short debunking of astrology and biorhythms. Older readers will find the book filled with stimulating facts. All ages. (October)