Painters of the Caves
by Patricia Lauber (National Geographic Society)

Patricia Lauber has written dozens of great science books for kids--everything from volcanoes to dinosaurs. This colorful book about cave paintings has to be one of her best. Thanks to remarkable color photographs and Lauber's easy and fun-to-read text, we explore the artwork and rock wall history of ancient people, beginning with Chauvet cave in France. Lauber helps us all imagine what life must have been like for early humans--what they ate, where they lived, what they wore, how they painted such lasting masterpieces. She closes the book by offering a list of other books you might like to read on the subject. It is a terrific introduction to cave paintings by an outstanding writer dedicated to kids.--Kelly Milner Halls

Stones, Bones, and Petroglyphs
digging into Southwest Archaeology
by Susan E. Goodman (Atheneum)

Archaeologists are like the Sherlock Holmes of the scientific world. They search for clues to solve mysteries about how people lived and died long, long ago. In Susan Goodman's ultracool book, Stones, Bones, and Petroglyphs, a class of Missouri 8th graders are the super sleuths.    What mystery are they trying to solve? The case of the vanishing Puebloans.    This ancient people lived and thrived in what became Colorado's Mesa Verde region. But for reasons no one quite understands, they packed up and left sometime around 1300 A.D. This book offers a kid's eye look at a very grown-up study.    There are plenty of great color snap shots of the class's real life summer adventure, and the fun, energetic writing makes this as much an adventure as it is a book. You can almost feel the dust and heat of the Colorado desert. You can almost smell the sudden rain storms. And when they find another ancient clue, you practically shout aloud with excitement.    If you want a real life look at archaeology at work and play, this book is for you.--Kelly Milner Halls