Book Review: How To Be A Scientist by Steve Mould

How To Be A Scientist by Steve Mould offers readers a bold and playful approach to science that makes the subject relevant to kids and encourages them to discover it in the real world with more than 40 fun questions, science games, and real-life scenarios. It tackles questions that children have such as; Why does mold grow? Why is the sea salty? and What makes day and night? The book helps them learn how to think like a scientist and look at the world to figure out how science works. More than 40 simple activities have undetermined answers, encouraging curious young readers to find new ways to test ideas, and fun questions, games, and real-life scenarios make scientific concepts fun and relevant. The stories of the great scientists and their discoveries—and failures—are told in an entertaining way to provide even further inspiration for little budding scientists.

How To Be A Scientist is exactly what I expect from DK. It is well written and organized, accessible to young readers and with bright, colorful images that enhance the text. THe diagrams, photographs, and varied page layouts keep readers from getting bored, and if everything goes right, will get them a little more excited about science. While the book does list facts about famous scientists, it pairs that information with experiments to balance out the learning experience with some hands on options. There is plenty of information within these pages, but it is well balanced with the photographs, diagrams, and info boxes in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. It hits the balance of learning, fun, and activities pretty much perfectly. The book is well organized, allowing readers to focus on a single subject at a time if that is what they want.  The beginning of the book features instructions on how to use the book, the types of tools and materials you may need, and then breaking down the concepts explored into categories such as the Natural world, chemistry, and so on. 

How To Be A Scientist is a book that will appeal to a wide age range, and will encourage children (and their parents and teachers) to do some more research and some science on their own. 

Book Review: Out of the Box by Jemma Westing

Out of the Box by Jemma Westing includes twenty-five interactive cardboard model projects that will encourage kids' creativity and "out of the box" thinking skills through hands-on learning and the application of science-based principles. Kids can bring old cardboard to life and build recycled creations they can play with, sit in, or wear. From small-scale gifts to large constructions there are clear, step-by-step instructions to show kids how to make dinosaurs, masks, race cars, and so much more. There are also images and ideas to encourage them to make their own unique projects when they feel ready. Each of the projects use recycled materials, including cardboard rolls and boxes, so all the supplies should be easy to find right at home.

Out of the Box is a well written group project instructions and inspirations for making a wide variety of creations with common cardboard objects we all are likely to have around the house. The additional supplies, such as glue sticks, scissors, markers, duct tape and the like are also things that many of us have on hand. Even if you do not have every tool that the instructions use throughout the book, there are certainly some projects that will require no shopping. The projects include games, animals, wearable masks,  ships, a 'cityscape', things for pets, and more. Even though I am an 'adult' I still want to try out some of these projects. So I work in a school and I will find a way to make it about the kids, but I want them for me- they are just a good excuse. I found the instructions to be understandable and easy to follow, although some of the projects are significantly more difficult than others. The photographs that accompany each project are helpful and clear.  One of my favorite things about the book was the inclusion of "Try This" ideas which encourages kids to take their projects to the next level, and to truly make it all their own.

Out of the Box is a wonderful addition to school, public, and personal libraries. While it is a wonderful jumping off point for organized or personal crafts (i.e. makerspace, classroom, storytimes, homeschooling) it would also be a great resource for anyone that likes to build and create. I will be trying to get a copy for my school library for next year.