NSTA/CBC has chosen Are We Alone as a selector's choice on their list of Best Books.

NSTA is the National Science Teachers Association.  CBC is Children's Book Council.  And the book has received this starred review from School Library Journal:

*SKURZYNSKI, Gloria. Are We Alone?: Scientists Search for Life in Space.
92p. illus. photos. bibliog. glossary. index. notes. Web sites. CIP.
National Geographic. 2004. Tr $18.95. ISBN 0-7922-6567-X. LC 2003017732.


Gr 5-7-The age-old question in this title is answered here in a
scientific and satisfying manner. Reports of UFOs, alien crashes, and
crop circles are not ignored, but a healthy skepticism is encouraged.
The chapters that follow describe the efforts modern scientists are
making to find, identify, and communicate with life on other planets.
Studies and experiments being conducted to discover exactly what
conditions are absolutely necessary for life to arise are also presented
as part of the overall investigation. Considerable attention is given to
existing and planned means of detecting life and intelligent beings. The
interconnectedness of the many scientific disciplines discussed is made
clear. The well-presented text and beautifully designed format make the
book interesting as well as entertaining. A full-page, full-bleed color
photograph or illustration faces each new chapter beginning. A generous
number of additional color photographs and illustrations appear
throughout. Sidebars profile scientists working with SETI's Phoenix
Project as well as other scientific and educational agencies. Their own
words invariably express the lifelong passion they feel for their work,
and their specific endeavors are described in the main text. Enticing
works on aliens, UFOs, and alien abductions abound. There are also some
excellent books with a narrower focus such as Ellen Jackson's Looking
for Life in the Universe (Houghton, 2002), which concentrates on Jill
Tarter, head of the Phoenix Project. No other title on this topic weaves
together the work of so many disciplines so seamlessly.-Ann G. Brouse,
Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY