The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope [Paperback]

Shar Levine (Author), Leslie Johnstone (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Looking at little things—things too small to see with the naked eye—can be big fun. It’s certainly smart science, and award-winning authors Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone are here to show kids the basics of creating their own professional-quality slides and using their own microscopes. A whole world will open up to budding scientists as they learn to identify the microscope’s different pieces, practice focusing, and prepare different kinds of samples for viewing. Illustrated throughout with photomicrographs (pictures taken through a microscope), and complete with a reproducible form for documenting specimens, this fascinating, in-depth guide explains how to put bugs, water, food, plants and pollen, and even parts of the body (like fingernails) under the scope for a close-up glimpse. Of course, there are troubleshooting answers to common questions and safety instructions for parents and teachers, too.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5–9—Through this fun and inviting book, readers can begin to explore the world using a microscope. Students are encouraged to learn the basics in the two first chapters and then undertake the 41 hands-on activities in the next eight chapters. Activities are presented in manageable one- or two-page uniformly formatted modules. Each one starts with an attention-grabbing title, such as "Charlotte's Parlor" or "Sounds Fishy to Me," and is then divided into three sections covering "What You Need," "What to Do," and "What Did You See?" Twenty-first century learners will like the crime-scene-investigation themes and the many informational sidebars and full-color visuals integrated into the text, including photomicrographs.—Caroline Geck, Newark Public Schools, NJ
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402743297
• ISBN-13: 978-1402743290
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious title for a very basic text, April 24, 2009

By 

Chris Robinson (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope (Paperback)

This book would be suitable for the youngest microscopists however they will quickly outgrow it and may become bored. While there's some excellent information contained here, the treatment is often a little too general, for example the section on both fresh water and marine protozoa is only four pages including illustrations.

There are some things this book does extremely well however. It presents age appropriate micro techniques for making slides and preparing specimens, something that is not always handled well in texts aimed at this age group.

I have another criticism of this book which is that both the compound microscope and the stereo microscope are used interchangeably, and the young readers are likely to be confused as to which instrument they should be using. Students would need both instruments available to follow all the exercises.

A feature of the book is information panels which expand on the knowledge gained from the lessons. While these are an excellent idea they often contain detail such as SEM images which the child will not be able to see with his instrument. This would be a possible source of confusion and disappointment.

I can recommend this book to adults planning lessons and for young beginning microscopists, but only as a adjunct to more comprehensive texts or instruction.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate guide to your microscope, March 23, 2008

By 

Wilhelm Resch "microscopist" (Saint Michael MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope (Paperback)

I bought three of these books for my grandkids. I wanted to introduce them to an exciting hobby. This book turned out to be a good choice, even for teenagers. The paper quality and pictures are very good. It covers a variety of subjects you can study under the microscope. I would even recommend it to adults who are not familiar with microscopes. It is just a pleasant book to browse through and enjoy. I have worked with microscopes for many years and even I enjoy looking through this book.