The What Do We Know About? series explores the mysterious, the unknown, and the unexplained. Are the geometric field patterns fact, myth, or legend? This book covers the phenomenon of crop circles and how they came to be one of the most studied mysteries of the natural world.

This is the fourth book from the 'What Do We Know About' series that I have read, and I consider them to be just as informative for adults as they are for curious kids. I certainly learned a lot of information that I didn't know about the history of crop circles from this one.

For instance, crop circles have been reported being seen for hundreds of years. In 1678, a booklet described a farmer finding a crop circle, which he said was created by a "Mowing Devil" and made him too afraid to harvest his crops.

The mid-sixties seemed to be big for crop circles because they began turning up all around the world. There was a lot of speculation from folks during those years, whether UFOs were the cause or whirlwinds or even human beings.

The phenomenon seemed to fade a bit during the mid-seventies, with a heavy resurgence in the late eighties, especially in England, with more speculation as to their cause, now including energy fields and ley lines.

In 1990, a completely new type of formation appeared. It had two circles linked by a rectangle with four narrow rectangles alongside. It stunned and amazed fans and researchers alike, and people took to calling it a pictogram.

In 1991, two men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, came forward to the press and admitted that they had been making crop circles in the dead of night for over thirteen years, all across southern England. Many researchers were left crestfallen and looking like fools over being conned by the pair, but there are still those stern believers who do not believe that the circles are man-made.

Today, crop circles have become an art form and many companies have used them for publicity.

As with the other volumes in this series, there are interesting and engaging illustrations spaced throughout the book that help the reader visualize where the narration story is going.

One of my favorite things about this series is that it includes a timeline at the back of the book, detailing events that tie to the subject matter, like when crop circles were first spotted, with an equivalent timeline of world events on the page opposite. The timelines run from 1678 to the year 2020 for this particular book.

I enjoyed this book but I enjoyed the others in the series, especially the ones on the Loch Ness Monster and the Winchester House, even more. This is a very engaging series, and one I'd happily share with my grandchildren. ~~ Dee Astell

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