Imagine a mouse growing a human ear on its back, or a person lying on a bed for over a year without ever getting up. These strange events actually took place as parts of different experiments carried out by scientists. In fact, Squire describes nearly a dozen weird and astonishing experiments, including when doctors sewed an entire hand back onto a man’s body, and when a U.S. Air Force officer set a land speed record of 632 mph in five seconds. Although some of these investigations may stimulate the interest of some readers, the prescriptive summary of the scientific process presented in this volume harkens back to a severely outdated perspective about how scientists do science. Furthermore, its photographs and spreads lack a true representation of women and scientists of color, promoting the incorrect stereotype that only older, white males can successfully navigate the field of science. Lamentably, even as a classroom resource, the section defining what experiments look like is unclear and too packed with unexplained jargon, as well as sets inaccurately narrow limits on the scope of what experiments look like. While other books in the “True Book” series might offer better information, this one only propounds false myths about experimentation. Reviewer: Remy Dou; Ages 9 to 13.
