Phantoms Among Us, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb
Alien Visits, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb
Creatures Walking, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb
Lost Worlds, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb

This set of books about unexplained phenomena is a perfect addition to a middle school non-fiction collection. Each book covers its topics with text and full-color images, maps, photos, and appealing illustrations on each page. A Table of Contents, Glossary, Read More, Online resources, and an Index are also included in each book. Books are at a 7th grade reading level, but skinny enough to not be intimidating (48 pages each). Interest level is for 5th – 8th grade. I found the text to be engaging. I liked that each book grouped similar phenomena together, for example, Atlantis, Lemuria, and other legendary, lost lands were all in the same book, Lost Worlds. Similarly, Bigfoot, Yeti, and other apelike cryptids are all grouped together in the Creatures Walking volume. I did find the white text on black background a little bit hard to read, but that could just be my older eyes! Each book also had interesting tangents blocked on some of the pages, giving extra or supplementary text. For example, in Phantoms Among Us, one of the extra blocks just explained the word “mediums” to add extra context to the other text on the page about communicating with the dead. A reader could read it or skip it depending on their background knowledge. I think my students will enjoy these additions to our collection on odd and unexplained mysteries of the world.