101 AMAZING OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
by Terry Jennings & illustrated by Alex Pang
Several different kinds of illusions (physiological illusions, e.g., afterimages; physical illusions, e.g., the result of refraction or reflection; perceptual illusions, e.g., ambiguous pictures; etc.) are explored in this large full-color volume that contains more than the 101 examples of the title. Jennings includes directions for making a number of demonstrations and optical toys. The explanations are cursory at best—Seymour Simon's The Optical Illusion Book (1984) is still the standard—but this is an attractive introduction to the subject for those who want the ``wow'' without the ``why'' in any great detail. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)