"With large-scale, full-color photos of planets and spacecraft accompanying well-written, engaging text, this entry in the Searchlight Books: Discover Planets series (8 titles) offers elementary-schoolers a thorough introduction to our planetary neighbor. Beth's informative and descriptive sentences ('Huge tornadoes of red powder race across the surface') are wonderfully matched by the photos, which always relate directly to the topic at hand, and the chapters logically progress through the concepts. Not only addressing what scientists have learned about Mars recently, the slim volume also discusses the history of Mars research (such as ideas that have since been disproved), missions to Mars, and the potential for future missions, including specific challenges scientists face when planning for human travel to the red planet. Critical-thinking questions and inset boxes with fascinating additional facts make the already enthusiastic, approachable text even more engrossing, and 'STEM Highlight' pages, focusing on a targeted aspect of Mars research, hint at the wide-ranging scope of the field. A thought-provoking, welcoming entry point to a perennially popular topic."--starred, Booklist.