Presented with humor and a bit of ballyhoo, this collection of 50 demonstrations of scientific tools, phenomena and principles includes a description of the history and science behind each topic. The chronological organization offers a nice way to chart the progress of science in many areas, from Stone Age tool-making through Zhang Heng’s seismometer, Jenner’s vaccine, Darwin’s “revolutionary evolutionary book,” Yeager’s sonic boom and the science-in-process of the Large Hadron Collider. With occasional, possibly frustrating exceptions, the experiments have clear directions and helpful sketches provided by James. Presented like recipes, they require relatively easily found materials. Each includes a “catastrophe meter,” pointing out difficulties and the possibility for injury, and a “Take Care!” label, identifying potential trouble spots. Occasionally, Connolly’s breezy explanations are careless or incorrect: Fossils can be traces of a soft-bodied creature; ligons (lion/tiger hybrids) have occurred in nature, not just from DNA manipulation. But overall this is both entertaining and instructive, a welcome follow-up to The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science (2008) and useful for science-fair projects, classroom or recreational group activities and home explorations. (Nonfiction. 9-14)
Pub Date: May 5, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7611-5687-1
Page Count: 391
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Few topics are more intrinsically interesting to young readers than disasters. Guiberson casts her net wide to examine ten natural and man-made disasters chronologically from smallpox in colonial America to Hurricane Katrina. The 20-page chapters, broken into subsections, describe the events with quotations from contemporary accounts and plenty of grim details. Photographs, drawings and diagrams, all usefully captioned, extend the lively text. The author analyzes causes of the disasters and factors that exacerbated them, such as building on landfill in 1906 San Francisco. In most chapters, she explores steps that could prevent or reduce future catastrophes, although only a brief introduction ties the chapters together. A Notes section highlights major sources for each chapter, without specific references, followed by an extensive bibliography but no further reading suggestions as such. Good for pleasure reading and as a starting point for research. (index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8170-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For pre-teens and teens dealing with some of the problems of surfing the Internet, a guide that proves too superficial to be of much use. Croft discusses online predators, shopping, filters, viruses, hate speech, chat rooms, cookies, and maintaining a balance between living in real life and cyberspace. But her slender volume doesn’t come close to justifying its title. Many issues, such as encountering pornography, are handled in the most cursory fashion, and suggestions, such as notifying the ISP of harassers, are given without any explanation of how to implement them. While Croft is targeting teen readers, the text size, reading level, and content all suggest a younger audience. The author takes tact to an extreme; more lurid aspects of the online experience are never confronted directly, and she suggests that any parent controls are really intended for younger siblings. The issue of staying safe in cyberspace doesn’t get the thorough and courageous treatment it requires. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12- 14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8239-2957-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
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