Flush!: Treating Wastewater (Carolrhoda Photo Books)
Grade 3-6?A thorough and lively explanation of how wastewater is treated in the U.S. After a brief history, Coombs takes readers through each step of the process, from the flush of the toilet until the water is ready to be used again. Clear explanations, usually supported by well-chosen reproductions and full-color photographs or diagrams, make the process easy and interesting to follow. The author includes intriguing details, such as what the air smells like in various rooms of the treatment plant, and points out some of the unusual objects that find their way into the sewer system (toys, money, reptiles). Statistics are neatly included within the text. A final chapter discusses natural alternative methods of cleaning wastewater. The book closes with a list of ways in which people can help the treatment process and an interesting bunch of "Fun Flushing Facts." With its attractive format and lively presentation, Flush should appeal to more readers than most books on the subject, and makes a natural companion to Penny Colman's Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers (Atheneum, 1994), which discusses the topic from a historical viewpoint.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, ORCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.