Astronomy in the Real World

Gr 2–4—These volumes are an excellent complement to the 2013 series "Science in the Real World" (ABDO), with upbeat, career-oriented surveys of the history, scope, recent trends, and types of work in selected STEM fields. Despite being aimed at readers who are still some years away from having to pick their majors, several volumes even cite salaries (though these are both unsourced and optimistic). The texts are surprisingly accessible, and if the authors sometimes go light on specific technical details, they don't shy away from controversial topics like cochlear implants in the Deaf community. Also, along with generous quantities of back matter, each volume is pedagogically jet-propelled—with bulleted summary lists at the end and meaty primary-source passages from the likes of Copernicus and Bill Gates followed by comprehension-testing questions and project suggestions.