With questions by a curious teen and answers from a real-life chemist, Why is Milk White? & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions by Alexa Coelho and Simon Quellen Field is a great resource for inquiry-minded children and hopefully a nudge in the right direction for those who are on the fence about science. Appropriate for ages 8-9 and older, this book introduces kids to the building blocks of chemistry through questions in categories like "People and Animals", "Household Chemistry" and "Things That Stink". There are also molecular diagrams and some experiments to investigate certain topics further.
As parents with science degrees (zoology for me and physics/math for him), we're always injecting a bit of science into Z's life and trying to instill in him a curiosity about how things work. Between the two of us, we have answers for how/why many things work but we don't always know which questions will trigger his interest and imagination. A book like this is fantastic in its variety as there should be something that appeals to almost every child. And since STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) jobs are on the rise and are some of the highest paying jobs out there, it can't hurt to see if your kid has an aptitude for biochemistry, materials science or another of the wide variety of science fields out there. And, of course, there's a good chance that parents/educators will learn something new from this book too! (I learned things I didn't know about moisturizers and hydrogen peroxide.)
Investigating the world's mysteries together,
K and Z
I think I need this book! We are doing chemistry this year. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a good "starting point" kind of book and it really shows the true width and depth of chemistry!
DeleteLove this and wish I'd known about books like these when my brother was younger. Although at 16 he'd probably still be interested or at least humor me in my "did you know?" So Z found these fun?
ReplyDeleteI bet he would get into trouble with some of the experiments! They're definitely ones that would need to be supervised. I've caught Z with the book a few times now. He's a bit overwhelmed because there's just so much information in the book but he skips around to the topics that really interest him.
DeleteI'm trying to find more science books to kick my son's curiosity about the subject in gear! I'm adding this book to my reading list. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely try this one out. It's got such a wide variety that there's hopefully something that interests him. So many subjects can seem either fun or boring simply on how they are presented, right?
DeleteOh I need this! I'm always getting hit up with questions that I can't answer!
ReplyDeleteI bet you're resourceful enough to find the right answers though! :) This would probably be a good book to have around though so that you can teach him research skills. That's one thing we're already working on with Z -- where to find the information he's looking for. He's a pro with his atlases and reference books and, of course, Wikipedia!
DeleteI am looking for some good nonfiction for my Gifted by Juxtabook. I shall get myself a copy of this - thanks for flagging it up. so few blogs cover kids' non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteI bet it will be a good fit! Kids with lots of curiosity will love this one.
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