Superstars of Science

Basher History

by R.J. Grant, Simon Basher (Illustrations)

Discover fun facts about the greatest scientists from history through Basher's fresh and unique illustration style.


Did you know that Marie Curie used to keep radioactive materials in her pockets? Or that Mendeleyev literally dreamed up his famous periodic table? Superstars of Science tells the stories behind the big ideas in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, cosmology, earth sciences, and engineering. Read about 40 great scientists including Newton and Einstein who produced theories that explained the way in which the Universe works, Crick and Watson who uncovered the structure of DNA, and Alexander Graham Bell who had the big idea that became the telephone. Each one of these greats of science has had some vital flash of insight that has changed the way we see the world and the way we live. Come meet the superstars of science!

Genres: Science, Biography, Childrens, Nonfiction, Picture Books, History

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2015

Reviews

[Shilo Quetchenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second grader really enjoyed this. We read it as a bedtime story. There is a lot of information about each scientist and since we’ve been reading a lot of science books it helps to connect people to the facts. I wish there were more women and non-white scientists included though.

[Enid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this for several weeks as bedtime reading with my son. On the nights we read this, we cover 2-3 scientists and then talk about them, so it was slow going, but enjoyable. It is a very well-done book and handles controversy well for the most part, although I think that Rosalind Franklin got short-changed in her mention in the Watson and Crick section.

[Jess Quimby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superstars of Science: The Brave, The Bold, and The Brainy written by R.G. Grant was published by Scholastic Paperback Nonfiction in 2015. The book is 96 pages long and the genre is nonfiction. This book best accommodates students in third to sixth grade, but could be used for an anticipatory set in the high school grades as well. The lexile level is 1000L and the guided reading level is Z.

Superstars of Science tells the stories behind some of the big ides in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, cosmology, earth sciences, and engineering. This book contains 40 great scientists including Newton, Einstein, Crick and Watson, Alexander Graham Bell and many others. Each of these great scientists have had some vital flash of insight that has changed the way we see the world and the way we live in it. Each scientist has their own page which contains a time line, legacy section and may other fun and interesting facts about the scientist and their work.

I would use this book in a unit format where students would research a science superstar and complete a little research flip book and paper based off of their scientist. The flip book would contain when the scientist was born and when they died, where they lived, what they are famous for, a live line (time line of their life), and fun facts. Students will then use their flip book to write a paper on their scientist. To complete this assignment, I would work with the librarian of the school to go over how to complete a research project.

CCSS.ELA – Literacy. W.6.2b Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
b - Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle grade students are not huge fans nonfiction in my experience. But if you can convince them to pick this one up, I think they will like the format. I learned about some scientists I had not heard of before. I particularly enjoyed the information about computer scientists.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Controversial figures and beliefs are presented in a positive light. Very pro-evolution when given the opportunity. Not recommended.
Teach: Science. Use to teach about famous scientists and their discoveries.

[KWinks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superstars of Science is awesome. I recommend it for first, second, and third graders who are interested in a (very) brief overview of famous scientists and what they did (or are doing). Honestly, there isn't much more here information-wise then one can read in a paragraph on Wikipedia, and all of the scientists are cleaned up a bit (no mention of the controversy over Rachel Carson's work). However it has a few details I loved: repetition about main key points of the scientist's work, interesting deaths, persecution of the scientists for their beliefs or sexuality, credit to other scientists who were performing similar works, and more. Newton's entry, for example, explains that the apple falling on his head story is not true, and tells us why. I also loved that the book featured a good amount of female scientists, and that each section features a quote.

Loss of star for lack of diversity!! Boo hiss!!!!

[Kate Taelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my 1st grade daughter and loved it. A good deal was over her head and needed a lot of explanation and discussion, which was good in my opinion. I thought the book did a good job giving an overview. I also liked that it was partially in first person, made it more relatable. Another thing I liked about the book is that it included the backlash many of the scientist experienced whether it came from the Church or because they were women or even disagreeing with the government.

[Jaden S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showed me a LOT of things I didn't know about scientists. In this book there're 40 different scientists (some of these scientists you might not even know about) and it tells the scientists back story, and all their amazing accomplishments.

[Cherryne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reference book. Interesting to for adults and kids to browse!

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good nonfiction book in an elementary classroom.

[Taylor Guffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction picture book about scientists throughout history shows the evolution of scientific discoveries and provides snapshots of the lives of these famous figures in history. This would be a good reference to use to gain basic knowledge about one or even all of the scientists included. This would be a great addition to my classroom library.