Isaac Newton helped stop widespread counterfeiting in Britain - who would have known. Ok, this book is for kids, but after making this fascinating poiIsaac Newton helped stop widespread counterfeiting in Britain - who would have known. Ok, this book is for kids, but after making this fascinating point they don't explain it adequately and now I'm dying to know how he did it!...more
I'm not a brony, but I have fond memories of "My Little Pony" when my daughter was little. This was a free borrow this month on HOOPPLA, so what the hI'm not a brony, but I have fond memories of "My Little Pony" when my daughter was little. This was a free borrow this month on HOOPPLA, so what the heck.
It has a surprisingly bizarre sense of humour (hence, I can see the appeal with some adults). But my main take-away is - THERE ARE MALE MY LITTLE PONIES NOW?!!?
I don’t know when I was in school that I started hating science class, probably sometime around grade 6. It did not need to be a foregone conclusion tI don’t know when I was in school that I started hating science class, probably sometime around grade 6. It did not need to be a foregone conclusion though, as I have always loved science fiction and exploring nature. But somewhere science class got incredibly boring. The textbooks were so boringly written (sadly, they were written by a great uncle) and science labs were always so frustrating due to overly precise procedures to get the experiments to completely work that they rarely worked for me or for most of the class as I recall. There was one fun moment when an inability to understand my Irish lab partner's lilt led to a small Bunsen burner fire, but otherwise science was so boring and always my least favourite subject.
So, I turned to the dark side, the fine arts. But what could my life had been like if my science education had not been such a dud. Many years have passed, and recently I encountered this graphic book as a free borrow from HOOPLA.
I wish this book had been my science teacher. I love this book! The book is for middle school kids and presents a series of (supposedly) easy to do projects that have a corresponding science lesson (but not overly didactic).
The artwork is much better than I ever would’ve imagined. I think this visual approach will help make science more accessible to reluctant science learners.
The writing uses two kids and presents a series of vignettes as they complete various engineering and science type projects. There isn’t much of a narrative, but the kids do express the type of imagination and spirit of adventure that makes their projects very interesting.
The projects themselves are exactly the types of things that kids (and kids at heart, such as me) would love to build, try, and enjoy. Not all are necessarily age-appropriate (e.g., requiring kids to use power tools extensively) or at the appropriate skill level for kids that aren’t already really into building things. The instructions for many projects lake the depth and granularity, such that I doubt many children could complete them without extensive outside help. And a failed project is very frustrating and discouraging. Nonetheless, just reading about the projects without even attempting them (as I just did) is still fun and valuable.
Using the comics medium and the ingenuity of the authors in their DIY projects that illustrate science concepts is inspiring and accessible in ways my dire textbook and dour teachers could never be. I wish there was a DIY time machine in this book so I could give young me this book!...more
I wish I could go back in time and give this book to my (much) younger self. This book has everything I loved as a kid in one place: fantasy (sword anI wish I could go back in time and give this book to my (much) younger self. This book has everything I loved as a kid in one place: fantasy (sword and sorcery), games, role playing, choose your own adventure, and comics - of course!
The level of detail and planning in this books is incredible. This book must have taken ages to prepare as there is just so much in it. I also love that the author encourages kids to use their own imagination to solve the various challenges.
My only criticism is I would like it if most of the challenges didn't involve violence. I'm fine with some violence, but it seems most of the challenges to solve involve fighting (and implied killing) and I think the story would be richer if there were more different types of challenges and puzzles for kids to solve.
I really enjoyed this book even though I'm not the target audience. This would be a great gift for a kid taking a long trip or on vacation as there is so much to this book it would keep them occupied and thrilled for ages!...more
This was a surprisingly adroit commentary on our culture and capitalization of fear. It was humourous in its biting satire (bad pun). The dark ending This was a surprisingly adroit commentary on our culture and capitalization of fear. It was humourous in its biting satire (bad pun). The dark ending is a bad choice as it undermines the overall message and makes this story not really suitable for its target audience of young kids (although I must admit I did enjoy the twisted surprise)....more
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