No Way . . . Way! Books in Order

No Way . . . Way! turns surprising real-world information into illustrated fact books for children. Tracey West draws on the Smithsonian’s collections, using photographs, illustrations and short pieces of text to explore subjects that invite a second look. The series has no continuing fictional hero or plot. Its connection is an approach to curiosity: begin with something that sounds unlikely, then investigate the people, animals, inventions or events behind it. Different volumes provide different routes through that mixture of familiar subjects and unexpected details.

Road Trip begins with people on the move. Its scope includes travel over land, through the air and beneath the sea, bringing transportation into contact with history, geography and engineering. The title suggests a journey, but the subject reaches beyond a single family’s drive. Inventions, buildings and unusual attractions also enter the book. That range lets one topic lead toward another, showing how the practical question of getting somewhere can reveal ideas about design, ambition and the ways people have changed their surroundings.

The surprise is an invitation to learn what makes an unlikely fact true.

Are You My Dinner? shifts attention toward eating. The book includes animal diets, human food and questions about where particular foods came from. Familiar assumptions about what belongs on a menu become something to examine rather than accept without thought. The subject can move between natural history and human practice without needing a new central character. Photos and illustrations help make that range visible, while the fact-book structure allows a reader to pause over an especially interesting example or move toward a different one.

Stinky, Sticky, Sneaky Stuff groups its material around qualities and behavior rather than a single scientific field. A strong-smelling plant, an unusual use of adhesive and a deceptive disguise can all belong within that organizing idea. The later USA turns toward the United States. Across the collection, the broad themes provide enough structure to make the facts related without making every entry explain the same narrow subject. The tone is playful children’s nonfiction, using humor and surprise to support information rather than presenting the examples as invented adventures.

Start with Road Trip to follow the publication sequence, or choose the volume whose subject is most appealing. There is no plot order to preserve, so food, travel or unusual natural phenomena can each offer an independent introduction. These are books for browsing as well as sustained reading. Their continuity comes from looking closely at things that might initially seem strange and finding that the explanation can be as interesting as the surprising claim itself.