One of the “Science of Nutrition” series, this title explores the role of minerals in our diet, why they are needed, and what happens if you do not have enough. The ten chapters, designed for upper elementary and middle school students, utilize an attractive layout of bold text, color photos, charts, and graphs to explore the importance and action of minerals in our diet and our bodies. Beginning with a generalized chapter about food as fuel, the remaining nine chapters go into great detail to define minerals, how much we need, how you get them from food, reading food labels, digestion, and so on. The chapter that explains minerals is a bit confusing for novices. When the term organic elements is introduced, inorganic seems a logical and timely term to explain all other elements and should have been included. A good science teacher should be able to keep it all straight. Each chapter includes a boxed “Did You Know” feature, a “Body Talk” bubble with anecdotal information and parenthesized quotes from mystery students. The overall layout will be appealing to students especially those not “into” science. Information about nutrition could not be timelier especially for students at risk for developing obesity; our national epidemic. Reviewer: Meredith Kiger, Ph.D.