Key Discoveries in Engineering and Design (Science Discovery Timelines)

Christine Zuchora-Walske grew up―and eventually settled down―in Minneapolis. But as a young adult, she spent some time gallivanting elsewhere, including the University of Notre Dame, London, the University of Denver, and a small town in the cornfields of Illinois.

Along the way she discovered a love for reading, writing, and inquiry―and a desire to make a career of those activities. For almost twenty years now, Christine has been writing and editing books and magazine articles for children and their parents. She began as an editor with the Cricket family of children's magazines. She ventured to the Lerner Group next, and then Meadowbrook Press. After having two children, she became a freelance editor and writer.

Christine's author credits are many and varied. They include crafts and puzzles; a monthly column in which she impersonated a praying mantis; natural science titles for beginning readers; books exploring countries around the world; a debate on the pros and cons of Internet censorship; and books on pregnancy and parenting. Christine has also edited hundreds of articles and books in many genres and for all ages.

Christine is especially fond of science and history. But she loves all kinds of knowledge and literature. She never tires of learning new things, and she gets a kick out of trading knowledge with others.

"True to their series' name, these well-designed volumes present various developments in these different subjects as points on a time line. Each book begins with an introduction to the discipline, which emphasizes how science builds upon, and sometimes overturns, the work of previous scientists, then further breaks down the broad subject into four distinct subdisciplines with their own chronologies. The straightforward information is accompanied by historical photographs and images as well as supplemental sidebars that immerse readers in the topic. At the end of each book, a section called 'Your Turn on the Timeline' encourages creativity, critical thinking, and independent research, enhancing the value of this set. VERDICT: Visual and nonvisual learners alike will appreciate this series' approach."―School Library Journal, Series Made Simple