VOYAGER

Astronaut/scientist Ride teams up with a science teacher for a book about the Voyager spacecrafts' epic journeys. During them, they passed close enough to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to take detailed pictures and measurements; the result is a wealth of new information (especially about the planets' rings and moons), gorgeous color photos, and some scientific puzzles. Aimed at younger children than Harris & Weissman's The Great Voyager Adventure (1990), this includes many of the same photos. Though the book's attractive and accessible, its text lacks crisp precision: ``..the Voyagers were launched into space by two rockets.'' Each? ``Many large antennas all over the world would be needed...'' Connected together? ``...although Saturn is big, it is very light...If you could find a bucket big enough, Saturn would float...'' What would keep the gas from leaking away? Quibbles, maybe, but young readers can be very literal minded. Index. (Nonfiction. 7+)