Description
Product Description
A New York Times 2020 Best Book of the Year
A Wall Street Journal 2020 Gift Guide Selection
This artful and accessible guide to the periodic table - the ultimate reference tool for scientists worldwide - names all 118 chemical elements and helps young readers understand the remarkable ways we have learned to use them.
Graphically stunning layouts feature each element's letter symbol and atomic number, exploring its attributes, characteristics, uses, and interesting stories behind its discovery. Complete with a comprehensive introduction, conclusion, and glossary, this is the perfect introduction to chemistry for inquisitive minds.
Wrapped in a double-sided jacket, with the illustrated periodic table printed on the underside, Exploring the Elements is jam-packed with 240 pages of information, including:
A comprehensive introduction explaining what elements are and the design and purpose of the periodic table
Each of the 118 elements is visually presented with its respective letter symbol and atomic number, as well as a map of where it’s located in the periodic table
Additional details showing where each element is found in the universe (from food on our plates to the center of a star), its unique properties, atomic diagram, secret chemistry, and working examples of how its’s used or changing the world
Plus an index, glossary and suggested reading and additional references and Resources
Both a gift book and a practical book, Exploring the Elements is for teachers and librarians, parents and grandparents, the home bookshelf and classroom bookshelf, science enthusiasts and budding scientists of all ages.
From School Library Journal
Gr 6–9—With accessible language by Thomas and colorful, delightfully clean and simple graphics rendered by Gillingham, this title takes readers on a tour of the periodic table. The text begins with the basics of what elements and compounds are and where they come from and then moves through an illustrated treatment of each element of the table. Elements are grouped by commonalities. For each element, one page is devoted to describing the element, its history in terms of significance to humans, and why it behaves the way it does. A second page depicts and details its forms and uses. The writing compellingly balances scientific language and sincere wonder. VERDICT Thomas and Gillingham provide an approachable and fun resource, making this title a wonderful supplementary text for a middle school science class or a great independent read for a curious young chemist.—Mallory Weber, Convent of the Sacred Heart, NY
Review
Starred Review: "Could make a chemist out of anyone." —Kirkus Reviews
"A stylish guide to the periodic table... Jolts of vivid color, sharp design and lively explanatory text will help readers ages 7-13 wrap their minds around the characteristics of the foundational chemical elements, the forms they take and the uses we make of them." —Wall Street Journal
"I was blown away by its accessible, innovative design... (Not to mention that the removable jacket cover hides the coolest version of the periodic table!)... Whether your teen reads it straight through or pages through it on periodic whims, you're going to have a hard time removing this from your coffee table." —What to Read to your Kids
"A comprehensive guide to the periodic table." —My Baba
"In this colourful compendium, Isabel Thomas takes us on a journey through (or rather, down, diagonally and across) the periodic table." —BBC Science Focus
About the Author
Award-winning art director and designer Sara Gillingham created Alpha Bravo Charlie, Boats Are Busy, Seeing Stars and Animals in the Sky with Phaidon. She lives in British Columbia.
Science writer and children's author Isabel Thomas is a winner of the AAAS/Subaru Children's Book Prize and has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize, the ASE Science Book of the Year, and the Blue Peter Book Awards.