Widely spaced lines of text and bright color photos combine to give this entry in the Real World Science series visual appeal for younger and reluctant readers alike. Though she skips such complexities as AC and DC, resistance, or how electricity is measured, Rau describes in clear, simple terms how static and current electricity behave and are used. She then goes on to introduce magnets and electromagnets, and closes with a discussion of how electricity can create magnetism and vice versa. Including six safe demonstrations dubbed “Real World Science Challenges” and capped with (mostly) audience-appropriate print and online resources, this may inspire budding Edisons to tackle the project-oriented likes of Sarah Angliss’ Electricity and Magnets (2001).

—John Peters