Aliens and Energy

Aliens and Energyis another entry in the Monster Science series.

Agnieszka Biskup chose aliens as a method to teach children about energy. The book begins by introducing the readers to the relationship between matter and energy. The author uses illustrations to help children access the vocabulary and concepts. I do prefer when the the characters are more integrated into telling the story, but I've come to accept that some in this series are only going to use the characters as illustrations, not as storytellers.

The story continues by defining the types of energy for readers. I was impressed by the explanation of kinetic vs potential energy. The explanations were clear and the illustrations added provided humor and more ways for students to access the material. Sound, light, and electrical energy are also addressed.

Changing energy is lightly covered. I thought the best part of this section was the explanation that energy can be changed but it isn't created or destroyed. The examples are less consistent. I found some were good in this section, others less strong.

The end was the weakest when it discusses energy conservation and renewable sources of energy. It lacked the consistency of the previous sections.