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Let's Learn About Chemistry
A board book that introduces chemistry to toddlers and babies through use of comparison activities. #ChemistryForToddlers #STEM
24 pages, Board book
Published June 2, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 3, 2020
Geared towards toddlers and early readers, we explore different and alike, types of change, liquids and solids, gases and liquids and mixtures. We even explore macro and micro elements and more. I loved that the story makes the children participate and strengthens their vocabulary.
While Sophia age five was familiar with concepts presented, the story allowed them to form hypotheses and encouraged discussion. For Clayton (age 3 1/2) this was a good introduction but also lost him a little. The pictures and illustrations by Christine Cagara, aided in explaining physical changes while introducing the concepts of melting, steam, clear and colorless. So we slowed down and explained each concept by experimenting with ice and more.
We followed up by reinforcing concepts learned. For example, their mother talked about the concepts learned as they baked a cake. It was fun asking questions and opening their minds to chemistry.
This is a magnificent tool to be used in conjunction with STEM games, television shows and on-hands experiments. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
While Sophia age five was familiar with concepts presented, the story allowed them to form hypotheses and encouraged discussion. For Clayton (age 3 1/2) this was a good introduction but also lost him a little. The pictures and illustrations by Christine Cagara, aided in explaining physical changes while introducing the concepts of melting, steam, clear and colorless. So we slowed down and explained each concept by experimenting with ice and more.
We followed up by reinforcing concepts learned. For example, their mother talked about the concepts learned as they baked a cake. It was fun asking questions and opening their minds to chemistry.
This is a magnificent tool to be used in conjunction with STEM games, television shows and on-hands experiments. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
April 29, 2020
I found this picture book to be very educational. Author, Stephanie Ryan does a great job of getting children excited about chemistry and science. The things that are featured in this book about chemistry will make some children grow up to be scientists.
Yet, even though the explanations are not overly complex, I would say that they are still too high level for the really young children to comprehend. The young readers will like the pictures as they are bright, fun, and not too busy. However, the older children will have a better understanding and appreciate the lessons on chemistry better.
Yet, even though the explanations are not overly complex, I would say that they are still too high level for the really young children to comprehend. The young readers will like the pictures as they are bright, fun, and not too busy. However, the older children will have a better understanding and appreciate the lessons on chemistry better.
May 19, 2020
This is a fun and interesting book which aims to teach children basic chemistry concepts from a very young age. ‘Let’s Learn Chemistry’ is a board book that’s filled with lots of colourful illustrations and text and although I have only had the chance to see this in a digital format (so I can’t comment on the physical quality) I do like the overall look and subject matter.
I don’t remember ever learning anything to do with chemistry until I was older and already at school for some time, so when I was given the chance at reading this book I was excited to see how it could teach children basic chemistry ideas at such a young age. At the start of the book there is a bit of an introduction to the characters and then the book follows the same basic pattern with each double page being about a different aspect of chemistry such as: types of change, solids and liquids, mixtures, macro and micro, etc., and it asks children to guess which of the four items shown on the left is different from the others. A short but easy to understand explanation of why it’s different is then shown on the next page.
I like the simple way that this book approaches these chemistry subjects, guessing what is different is something children can easily do, and overall the book does a good job of explaining these making it generally easy to understand. However, the fact that rather than giving children four items to look at and asking them to guess what’s different, the difference is already printed underneath the items, making it obvious which of the four is different when you just look at the page, which I find is a bit of a shame. For example, on the first of these page, ‘Types of change’ three of the four pictures are labelled ‘physical’ with the last item labelled ‘chemical’. This makes it easy for children to see which is the diferent one without needing to guess, which is a shame as I think it would be more fun to guess first without being told. I also think the age this book is aimed at can be confusing. The book is a board book and says it’s for ages 0+ but I’m not sure if all children will be able to grasp and understand this book at such a young age (especially as the only books I was looking at from that age were ABC and counting books) so I’d say it probably depends on the individual child.
The illustrations are good, very colourful and clear to see. I do like the way that these four children look, their expressions are fun, I love the way they pose on the different pages, interacting with some of the objects shown, and I do really like the general fun and colourful look to the book as a whole, with the colourful backgrounds to each double page and the fact that the children in the book are talking to us via speech bubbles throughout. I also like the way that important chemistry words like ‘gas’, ‘soluble’, ‘microscopic’, etc. are all in a brighter colour to the rest of the text, making them stand out and the way that some of these more complicated words are visually broken down into pieces too, makes them look and feel easier to read, giving the whole book an easy to read feel, and the whole idea of learning chemistry less daunting.
In general I do like this book and what it is trying to do. I don’t remember there being any books that really tried to teach kids even basic chemistry when I was young, and it’s a subject that a lot of children struggle with in later life at school. So I really like the idea of teaching kids about chemistry from a very young age. This is a great book, and the fact that chemistry can be something as simple as guessing what’s different, makes the whole idea of learning chemistry feel fun and exciting, and also making it an approachable subject for the adults/parents who are reading with the children, who themselves might not feel confident about their own chemistry knowledge.
Overall I do like this book and do think a lot of children and adults will enjoy reading this together. It does make chemistry feel like an approachable subject and although I do think a few things could have been changed to make the book even better (such as descriptions under each of the things that could be different, rather than just the answers, and answers to which is different on another page) it’s still a great book and I one do think is worth reading.
-Thanks to Mindbuck Media and the author for a free pre-release digital copy for review.
I don’t remember ever learning anything to do with chemistry until I was older and already at school for some time, so when I was given the chance at reading this book I was excited to see how it could teach children basic chemistry ideas at such a young age. At the start of the book there is a bit of an introduction to the characters and then the book follows the same basic pattern with each double page being about a different aspect of chemistry such as: types of change, solids and liquids, mixtures, macro and micro, etc., and it asks children to guess which of the four items shown on the left is different from the others. A short but easy to understand explanation of why it’s different is then shown on the next page.
I like the simple way that this book approaches these chemistry subjects, guessing what is different is something children can easily do, and overall the book does a good job of explaining these making it generally easy to understand. However, the fact that rather than giving children four items to look at and asking them to guess what’s different, the difference is already printed underneath the items, making it obvious which of the four is different when you just look at the page, which I find is a bit of a shame. For example, on the first of these page, ‘Types of change’ three of the four pictures are labelled ‘physical’ with the last item labelled ‘chemical’. This makes it easy for children to see which is the diferent one without needing to guess, which is a shame as I think it would be more fun to guess first without being told. I also think the age this book is aimed at can be confusing. The book is a board book and says it’s for ages 0+ but I’m not sure if all children will be able to grasp and understand this book at such a young age (especially as the only books I was looking at from that age were ABC and counting books) so I’d say it probably depends on the individual child.
The illustrations are good, very colourful and clear to see. I do like the way that these four children look, their expressions are fun, I love the way they pose on the different pages, interacting with some of the objects shown, and I do really like the general fun and colourful look to the book as a whole, with the colourful backgrounds to each double page and the fact that the children in the book are talking to us via speech bubbles throughout. I also like the way that important chemistry words like ‘gas’, ‘soluble’, ‘microscopic’, etc. are all in a brighter colour to the rest of the text, making them stand out and the way that some of these more complicated words are visually broken down into pieces too, makes them look and feel easier to read, giving the whole book an easy to read feel, and the whole idea of learning chemistry less daunting.
In general I do like this book and what it is trying to do. I don’t remember there being any books that really tried to teach kids even basic chemistry when I was young, and it’s a subject that a lot of children struggle with in later life at school. So I really like the idea of teaching kids about chemistry from a very young age. This is a great book, and the fact that chemistry can be something as simple as guessing what’s different, makes the whole idea of learning chemistry feel fun and exciting, and also making it an approachable subject for the adults/parents who are reading with the children, who themselves might not feel confident about their own chemistry knowledge.
Overall I do like this book and do think a lot of children and adults will enjoy reading this together. It does make chemistry feel like an approachable subject and although I do think a few things could have been changed to make the book even better (such as descriptions under each of the things that could be different, rather than just the answers, and answers to which is different on another page) it’s still a great book and I one do think is worth reading.
-Thanks to Mindbuck Media and the author for a free pre-release digital copy for review.
February 3, 2021
This board book is bright, smart, and engaging. It uses the common theme of "Which of these things is not like the other?" to introduce basic chemistry concepts such as liquid vs. solid, macroscopic vs. microscopic, and soluble vs. insoluble. I was interested in receiving this free review copy from the author for several reasons, the primary one being that my sister is currently in grad school pursuing a doctorate in chemistry. I think this is a great resource for introducing young children to some chemistry terms, and my sister quipped that "You could probably pass the first general chemistry test based on the definitions in the book." Highly recommend.
July 12, 2021
I was initially very excited to read this book to my son who is 5. I heard that it was a fun way to learn about chemistry in an interactive fashion for youngsters. However, the book was extremely disappointing! The book is not interactive as advertised. Kids just look at pictures and discuss with parents (as with any other book). The presentation is greatly lacking. I also found some faults in the explanations (especially in the types of change area). I am guessing that there was not an editor for this book. I thought that it would be an innovative way to discuss how to sort objects in multiple ways (as we do in life), without prompting from labels that parents have to read. I thought it was odd when my 5 year old was asked to sort images that were so abstract. Honestly, I would prefer a hands on approach to learning with experiments for young children. The explanations were ridiculous for that age. This book has images that a younger child would not understand based on development (perfectly normal). I did note that this was published by the author. I definitely would not read this to a younger child. The content and presentation is for an older child. Though, it’s not in a format that an older child would enjoy!
September 3, 2020
The concept of chemistry has just been made easy for young learners and parents too. This handy little board book is colorfully illustrated and shares chemistry basics. Readers will understand the concept of physical changes and chemical changes. For example, cutting paper, melting ice and boiling water are all physical changes. When you fry and egg that is a chemical change. A baseball is a solid, but milk in a carton is a liquid. Readers will also learn about liquids in comparison to gases. Bugs and plants are used to show macroscopic and microscopic. These are just the basics and you will be surprised at how quickly young learners will grasp these chemistry concepts. Parents and teachers can use this tool to teach so much more than chemistry.
May 13, 2020
This book is one of the first I have purchased to start a collection for my future child. It is a colorful and inviting way to introduce young children to science at a very young age. As a scientist myself, I believe it will serve different purposes as it is read at different developmental stages and will build a essential foundation of scientific learning and understanding for the child reading it! I am looking forward to more of Stephanie's books for my collection and am excited to see what she'll come up with next.
May 5, 2020
I read this book to my 3 year old, and she loves the bright and colorful pictures! She also seems to comprehend the concepts. The author explains them in a way that helps me better answer my childs questions. Since chemistry is not my strength it is nice to have a book with simplified explanations!
All in all, this book is a great read, and I highly recommend adding it to your preschoolers library!
All in all, this book is a great read, and I highly recommend adding it to your preschoolers library!
July 4, 2021
7/4/2021 ~ The concept of "which one is different" is used throughout the book to introduce concepts about the forms and sizes of matter. I wish those illustrations weren't labeled - if there was a lift the flap or other mechanism to engage the reader in the question before the answer was revealed, more active thinking could occur.
May 6, 2020
My 3 year old loves this book. He asks to read it all the time! It has fun interactive activities. And I learned some things too!
May 12, 2020
What a perfect way to introduce my toddler to science and chemistry concepts. Well laid out and cute illustrations. We love flipping through it!
June 4, 2020
A great intro to the basics of chemistry for little ones!
April 15, 2021
This book is a great introduction to chemistry (STEM). I think kids will like the book and will enjoy sharing their knowledge with others.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews