This nonfiction title explains how telephones work while giving a brief history of their invention, starting with the telegraph and moving forward to present-day cell phones. It is rather technical at times, although the author does try to keep the language fairly simple. Illustrations alternate between colorful cheery scenes of people communicating and scientific diagrams with parts labeled. The former feature a number of children of different races and abilities. Backmatter includes a glossary and a timeline. There are also suggestions for hands-on experiments readers can try on their own. This is a decent choice for classroom or school libraries. ( )