AMAZING SCHEMES WITHIN YOUR GENES

In the Cells and Things series, a brief, zippy look at human genetics—it's quite a feat to get from DNA and chromosomes to how cells make individuals unique in just 20 words, or to summarize human evolution in three paragraphs. The cheerful, cartoonlike illustrations here are amusing: ribosomes quip ``Here I go'' or ``Yipeee''; a smiling sperm bams into an egg, cheering ``Now we've got 23 pairs of chromosomes!'' Unfortunately, the abbreviated text and picture book format are sometimes at odds with the rather difficult concepts presented: ``If each gene is a recipe, then DNA is the chemical language that the recipes are written in.'' Elsewhere, the upbeat tone leads to overstatement: ``Nowadays nurses and doctors use treatments to keep children with cystic fibrosis healthy and help them lead better lives, though the disease cannot be cured.'' For motivated young science readers. No glossary or index. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 8-12)