Customer Reviews

Physics: Why Matter Matters!

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein

Yup, that just about sums up what's going on here, proving the Einstein's smaller theories were pretty solid as well. The physical world and its inhabitants are once again anthropomorphed and grouped by association. We get the Old School dudes (Mass, Weight, Density, &c.), the Hot Stuff (Energy, Entropy...), the Wave Gang (Sound, Frequency...), the Light Crew (Radio, Microwave...), and so on. It's all here, each aspect with its own spread, a first-person breakdown on the one side and a graffiti-like cartoon portrait on the other. There's also a "first discovered" box and a short historical list of how or when they were famously employed.

As with Basher and Green's previous book "The Periodic Table: Elements With Style," I think this book works best in the classroom as a supplemental text (though used correctly they could be primary) with wide appeal. A great introduction for budding young scientists to the basics of physics, a playful refresher for older young scientists, and an easily digestible crash-course for adults who need the background to keep up with their budding young scientists.

My six year old plowed through this book in one afternoon... he knew he'd love it because the Periodic Table version is an old favorite. The information is clear, concise, and engaging, the pictures appealing to my little Pokemon fan. I love that we had a whole discussion of strong vs. weak force at dinner last night. Not really a textbook, but a fantastic introduction to physics for kids who read well on thier own.

Physics is oftentimes considered the hardest of the hard sciences, and to many people it is one of the most difficult subjects to master. It is also my own chosen profession, and something that I am very passionate about. I find it to be an enormously fascinating subject, and I always appreciate new ways of sharing my knowledge of the subject with my students, friends and acquaintances. In my professional life of a college professor I find it continuously challenging to present the most important Physics concepts in such a way that is both accessible to the intended audience and it does justice to the field. Unfortunately even in the higher education there has been an increasing pressure to dilute various subjects in order to make them more "relevant" to the modern students. These attempts, however well-intended they may be, have the consequence of creating more and more generations of scientifically illiterate citizens. Fortunately, this small book does not subscribe to this misguided approach to science. The concepts and ideas are as part of the traditional Physics curriculum as they come. They are introduced in a playful, amusing way, and yet each short description is completely accurate and relevant. There are a few facts and numbers that help with describing each one of the concepts, but they are only given in sidebars and don't constitute the bulk of the material. In my opinion this is a pedagogically well founded way of presenting these concepts to someone for the first time. The illustrations in the book are extremely well done and serve the purpose of personifying various physical concepts and quantities. This may be particularly appealing to the young readers. I would also recommend this book even to the older audience that perhaps has not heard of some of these concepts, or has not really thought about Physics in many years. Overall this is an excellent low-level introduction to Physics.

My son is 12, and he is a bookworm. He is also interested in science. I saw this book, and I thought that it would make a perfect stocking stuffer for him. I love buying things for my children that are not only fun for them, but that are good for them too. My son likes this book, and I think it'll definitely give him a headstart when he begins learning this in school.

I have good news for fans of the quirky kid's guide to chemistry, "The Periodic Table, Elements with Style". Kingfisher Publishing has produced two related books, which cover biology and physics. The artist known simply as Basher has teamed up with a new writing partner, Dan Green. These pocket sized guidebooks are captivating and make a real impression on kids. Because the books are formatted in the same way, I am reviewing them together.

Both books have about 120 pages plus a glossary. The left hand page usually has a topic, a few bullet points on it, and two paragraphs presenting information from the point of view of the topic. Each subject has it's own personality and the right hand page has a personified illustration of that subject. In the Biology book, Sperm, for instance, says, "I'm a little guy with a big job." For those who wish to consider the appropriateness of the books for younger children, he does get a bit more specific. "I Start out in one of the two testes, a man's sperm factories, and travel upstream towards the penis... If everything is going swimmingly, I enter a female body and it takes an hour or so to get to Egg." The whimsical cartoony illustration shows a smiling tadpole-like creature wearing sunglasses. There is also a tiny, simplified 1" tall rendering of the male reproductive system. The information on Egg and Baby in Womb is also quite simple but may be upsetting to some. "Biology, Life as We Know It" also contains a small pull out poster of the body systems. Some examples of other topics in the biology book include Skin, Nails, Reptiles, Liver, and Flower.

The physics book is titled, "Physics, Why Matter Matters" and it has definitions of terms like Kinetic Energy, Frequency, Alpha Particle, and Gravity. The introduction notes, "Physics is all about knowing -or trying to find out- what makes the universe tick. It started out with some naturally nosy people who wanted to know..." The description of Force says that it, "Gangs up with Mass and Acceleration to push things about." Infrared boasts, "You can run but you can't hide. I'm the original heatseeker and I'm out to give you a good grilling!"

These books might help older students memorize details just as well as they inform and entertain younger children. Highly recommended!

My son is almost 10 and in the 4th grade. He recently got Simon Basher's "The Periodic Table" from a school book order and he was sold on these books! He loves the illustrations and they seem to help him be able to conceptualize these topics. Immediately he wanted all of the books and since they are so fun as well as educational I just couldn't say no!

I definitely recommend any of Simon Basher's books for kids.

This book will provide an excellent foundation for children. This book broke things down to the simplest form possible and my 3 year old like it a lot.

I teach 5th grade and my students are in love with these books as well as The Periodic Table: Elements with Style. It makes it easy for them to understand. They borrow the books from me daily and it really triggers an interest in science for them. These books have been so successful in my classroom I pre-ordered the biology version coming out in September. I can't say enough good things about it/them.

The only drawback to this book is the fact that now my 6 year old knows what alpha particles are and I have no idea. This is another outstanding science book for children that not only teaches but excites them about the subject matter as well. The book arrived in the mail last week and on the first day my son read the entire book. Never fear however the subject matter is introduced well enough to entertain and inform in that first reading, however it is physics. He has and will I am sure continue reading, understanding a little more each time. He was disappointed that Physics did not come with a poster like The Periodic Table: Elements with Style. I do recommend reading the book thoroughly, if like me you are not into physics, before your child does. The conversations go better when you don't have to look everything up.

Good product to help my kid in school, as a Chemistry major I liked the depth and scope of this product and the manner in which it relates the material to younger audinces!