This review applies to MOST of the Basher books as they all seem to share the same mix of excellence and failure.
First, these books are GREAT in that they present some of the terminology/jargon of the subject matter in a way that seems to interest small children! (in my experience, ages 4-7 seems about right) This is actually a BIG DEAL, as the books reliably deal in wonderfully important subjects. For this, I highly recommend them and thank the authors and publishers for their effort!
However... there are two ways in which I find these books to be terribly disappointing:
1) The attempts to make each entry clever and fun raise the effective reading level high above the target audience. Clever puns and delightfully descriptive diatribes do not go over so well with young children just beginning to read. My six year old is completely ready for the subject matter, but struggles to the point of giving up (!!) trying to manage the prose.
2) IMHO, the attempts at fun language and clever characterizations often work to obscure the simplicity of the subject matter at hand. As a scientist who understands many of the concepts under discussion, I often find myself marveling at how these descriptions express an opaque and incomprehensible version of what are fundamentally simple ideas.
*sigh*
Basher Guys... I LOVE what you are trying to do. IMHO, if you can find a way to simplify the prose, and not let "characterizations" get in the way of "simple explanations", then you will be changing the WORLD!!
So despite my reservations... BUY THESE BOOKS!... I think that as long as they use it to try to do better, these guys have TOTALLY earned our income!!
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017
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Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2015
This whole series of books is great! We've actually used several of them to supplement the curriculum in our home school.
*I paid full price for this item. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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I love these books!
By Maggie W on November 11, 2015
My son is seven years old and has been collecting rocks for years. He always talks about how he wants to be a Space Geologist when he grows up. This book presents factual information about rocks in a way that he can understand. The bright, colorful pictures keep him entertained while he reads the story of each rock. It's really cute that the information about each rock is presented from the rocks' point of view. He was so excited to get this book that he read it for over an hour when I gave it to him!By Maggie W on November 11, 2015
This whole series of books is great! We've actually used several of them to supplement the curriculum in our home school.
*I paid full price for this item. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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K. Carrington
Another gem from this series of books
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2009Verified Purchase
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Four Stars
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Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2015Verified Purchase
