The Periodic Table: Elements with Style!

Basher Science

by Adrian Dingle, Simon Basher

Basher The Periodic Table, Elements with Style! created and illustrated by Simon Basher, Written by Adrian

The Periodic Table introduces budding chemists to the world of the elements as it's never been seen before. Designed to resemble popular networking Web sites, the pages of this book feature "homepages" for each of the chemical elements -- complete with witty and informative profiles written by the elements themselves, plus a personally chosen picture.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Chemistry, Reference, Education, Stem

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Hoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids's interest in science was sparked by this book. They are now 7, 5 & 3 and still love flipping through the pages. They recite the periodic table and ask me questions like do you know the chemical symbol for chalk? The illustrations draw the reader in. The text is not dumbed down and the drawings are great. A great primer for the budding scientist. You can't start them too young. Simon Basher (illustrator, creator of the characters) has a series of these books and we have the whole collection.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Who said chemistry had to be boring? (I'm sure no one has ever said this, but someone sure forgot to tell my science teacher!) Basher and Adrian Dingle have come together to create an entertaining and valuable resource for students with their version of the 111 elements.

Whether you're studying chemistry in school right now or not, you're sure to get a kick out of the full-color illustrations inside the pages of this book. Plus, you might actually learn something, as each element is fully described in detail: the name, its symbol, its atomic number, its atomic weight, its color, its standard state, and its classification.

The elements are also broken down into eleven separate categories, including the Alkali Metals, the Transition Elements, the Boron Elements, the Carbon Elements, the Nitrogen Elements, the Oxygen Elements, the Halogen Elements, the Noble Gases, the Lanthanides and Actinides, and the Transactinides.

This is the perfect, easy-to-use reference guide for people of all ages, and the included poster can easily be used for an educating, stylish decorating tool. Who knew elements could be so interesting??

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manga manganese, who knew? Real information with updated graphics, this small volume explains much as it eschews traditional graphic representations. Much less intimidating than the fabled chart we all know and fear--this volume makes chemistry and the organization of its elements accessible-- the only thing better I have ever seen is the video musical cartoon called, "Meet the Elements" by "They Might be Giants," and it is my all-time-favorite educational video. Elephants are made of elements, the might be very big men declare, so why not explain, in this text, that your favorite graphic-novel characters are just as elemental. Science for the modern man marches on.

[Joy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all his books

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the periodic table for kids - OK...I admit it...I learned a lot from this book...go ahead and laugh...so the periodic table confuses me...is it my fault? But on a serious note, this is just the type of book that you will enjoy reading with a small child. A very STEMtastic book that is sure to please inquiring young minds!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Periodic Table ELEMENTS WITH STYLE by Adrian Dingle was a short, informative, and colorful book about the periodic tables. I've always had a lot of trouble with the table and all the boring terms felt like they were being jammed into my head. This book has given me a good review to help get me comfortable again. However, this book makes learning the periodic tables have a sense of humor while still grasping a lot of the content. When something is funny or notable, (at least for me) its a lot easier to remember. This book might help you with your elememts and it is defenitely something you should check out.

Adrian uses fun descriptions of the elements to helps the elements describe their features. It isn't just a super boring textbook listing everything using vocabulary that you have to remember as well. The tip of the nail you have to drill into your brain is softer.

This book, along with the whole series has great reviews from child magazines and newspapers. It's a great and unique change in learning approach.

This is also a book I recommend for all ages because no matter how old you are, it can be hard to remember. Maybe you're learning them in class or you child is learning about them and need help when you forgot everything. This is defenitely the book to go for.

[Megdep · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love the "Basher Books" in our household! Basher manages to create nonfiction book after nonfiction books with wonderful illustrations that bring the subjects to life.

This book, about the periodic table, breaks the elements into their respective groupings (alkali metals, transition elements, noble gases, etc.) explaining what each group has in common. Each element is anthropomorphically illustrated, and some make us laugh out loud. The illustrations often give a sort of visual aid that helps the young reader remember its characteristic (helium looks like a balloon, arsenic looks sick to his stomach, etc.)

Basher books are appropriate for any young child interested in the subject matter. Even if a child is not reading yet, the illustrations are enchanting. If you have a listener who is interested in categories and lists and how things work, this is a nice way to introduce him/her to chemistry.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so my 8 year old is on a serious chemistry kick. I came across this book at the library and he LOVES it. Like, he hasn't set it down for 3 straight days kind of love. Little anime characters represent the elements (not all of them to his chagrin) tell in a fun way the characteristics of the elements.

A really fun book for a kid who loves science.

[Felisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

MS SCIENCE

Basher, Simon. The Periodic Table: Elements with Style!. New York: Kingfisher, 2007.

Target Audience: Grade 6 to 8

In our house we have several copies of the Basher Science series books. This was a book given to my son when he was in 5th grade, but he has still been using it as a quick reference guide, even in college. Teaching the periodic elements may seem boring but this book has a way of personifying each element. For example, the elects Rubidium that is in the chapter The Alkali Metals has a cartoon figure with a hood, cape and mask. The description states, "I am a master of disguise...I'm such a prankster". These cartoons and humanistic comparisons really engage even the most reluctant science reader.

While the target audience is for middle school, I would find this a great asset to even a high school science teacher. This is a compact paperback book with lots of colorful visuals and even includes a full size poster. This book makes learning about the periodic elements fun and engaging. Highly recommend for all ages.

[Tak Yip LOW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book is the basic guid to one of chemistry's hardest topic - the periodic table and its gargantuan shelf of elements. The good thing about this book is that it gets straight to the point, rather than going through their atomic mass and an elements isotopes it gives their similar fundementals and how they afect us in our daily lives. However this is not advised for people with a higher understanding of chemestry as the only thing I gained through reading this book was a cute version of the periodic table that I photocopied. This periodic table even has each classification for the family groups of elements in different colour! This really is the elements in style.

[Catherine Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Target audience grades 6-8
Summary: Basher manages to add fun and whimsy to learning about science in this Basher Science series book "The Periodic Table: Elements with Style!" Accompanied by great manga style illustrations, kids can learn about 64 different elements in a fun way and exciting way. This book is packed full of relevant information that kids learn in school. While, the strengths of this book are the fun illustrations and great source of information presented in an exciting way the small size of this book would be a weakness. Other than that, I highly recommend this book to middle school students and anyone who wants to learn about the elements.

[book eater · Rating 5 out of 5]

hello gang(we are a gang now it is new)this book is all about THE PERIDORIC TABLE the most godly thing ever made(apart from cute kittens)going though 111/118 elements that make up the natural would in there groups in order but yet i am disappointed because they misted out some elements :.-(

[Rachel Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like science, although I cannot guarantee any scores.
it was a snippet of info, for me and I really really enjoyed it. My mom said that she would get the whole series for me, so I'm rejoicing over my cluster of new books due to arrive next week or so. I can't wait, and it's a wonderful book for wanna-be scientists.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elements with Style is a great approach to making the teaching of elements tangible for kids, aside from letting them experience the real thing and considering the reactive reality of many elements, that wouldn't be advisable! This book was a gift from a student of mine.

[Wendy Garland]

This is a great way to introduce the elements. A fun approach!

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot wait to read the whole series. Really engages kids with science in a fun format with great illustrations and fun text. I'm learning along with my son and finding all kinds of neat facts.

[Hernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion the book is really helpful because, it gives you lots of information of the periodic table. So if you want to know about the periodic table, then I recommend you this book.

[Camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it will be fun and even more interesting to learn and read about to read and learn about. i think the book will tell us about the periodic table and more interesting facts

[Johannes Kristian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good.The drawings were interesting to look at.

[Charliiey Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like learning new things but really struggle with understanding adult non-fiction books as they tend to make things too complicated. As this is aimed at children I found it a lot easier to understand and I feel like if I read a more grown up book on the periodic table now I'd understand it a lot better than I would have before I read this. It's definitely a good starting point if you want to learn about the many different elements that make up our world and how the elements are separated into their different groups on the periodic table.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book when my son was in second grade. I did't expect him to memorize the periodic table (which he didn't) or to understand the properties of elements (which he didn't), but he did learn what an element is, which elements are heavier and which are lighter, and some of their properties. When he encounters the periodic table in his school, it won't seem like a foreign language to him.

[Juliana M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book! It has lots of trivia and has a very digestible format, especially for younger kids. I actually read the 2018 updated version, and I would suggest finding the most recently published versions, because those will be the most accurate and informative. The illustrations are adorable (especially Plutonium), and each page offers a great at-a-glance summary of the element.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book needed more elements. Sure, if all 110+ elements were in here it would be huge, but I wanted to know about all the rare earth elements and whatnot I saw on the periodic table. I did learn a lot about the more notable elements like hydrogen and helium, and even more obscure ones like bromine. And the little character designs in this are possibly the best in any Basher book.

[Rebecca Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are very happy to have found a series of science and math books that engage the kids. The elements in this book are given personalities based on their properties and the connections make a big difference.

[Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are using this in our homeschool and my son absolutely loved this book. Even in this free time, he likes to read this. There are cool pictures of elements, and the discription is written in a fun and engaging way.
We like the entire series.

[Kiddo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little book.

[Marshaferz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but relatively uninteresting. (Also, a little sexist.)

[Ella K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good informational book on the periodic table. A quick read that is full of info and really educates me.

[UHhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

cool book i like the pictures

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was informative in a fun way.