Yogi Bear's Guide to Plants

I am always on the look out for books that engage kids with science concepts and vocabulary. Yogi Bear's Guide to Plantsprovides younger readers with fun characters to guide them through learning the basic language, vocabulary, and scientific concepts associated with plants.

The book begins with the introduction of seeds and how seeds turn into plants. I particurally liked the picture that shows the progression in bean plant growth. While not labeled it is a great visual that demonstrates plant growth from the hard seed to the beginnings of a leaf plant.

The book gave a very basic attempt at explaining chlorophyll and photosynthesis. I looked at this a couple of times before deciding this was actually an age appropriate explanation of the topic. Some books choose to ignore the science of plants, thus making it harder for kids to learn later. Some bombard them with so much information they can't absorb it all and it gets shut off. To pardon a pun, this planted the beginnings of the concepts in language that is accessible by younger children without teaching them inappropriate science language or ignoring the science concepts. It begins to explain photosynthesis without all the chemistry that most younger readers aren't going to absorb. However, it does it in a way that once they are ready for the chemistry of photosynthesis, nothing they have learned will need to be relearned. It will be building on knowledge already introduced.

The book goes on to discus the purpose of leaves, stems, and roots. I thought the explanations and illustrations were again age appropriate and designed to engage and entertain. While there are practical examples, there are also some very wild looking roots introduced as well.

Yogi goes on to discuss seeds and how they are spread, as well as other forms of plant reproduction. I was impressed with this section. Often in books written for younger readers you see the basic seeds discussed and the topic is left there. However, this discussed a wide range and scope of how plants reproduce. The book begins with bean seeds, continues with fruits, but then continues to conifers, ferns, moss, then flowering plants and trees. Clearly each is addressed at a basic level, but it does open the topic for further exploration and discussion.

While I've enjoyed all the books in the Yogi series, I will say this is my favorite that I've reviewed to date. I'm hoping more will be written and that they will eventually be published in something other than library binding, so I can put them on my Christmas list for my younger family members.

Thud! Wile E. Coyote Experiments with Forces and Motions

I'm always looking for a balance between age appropriate accessible science books and accurate content. Thud!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments with Forces and Motion (Wile E. Coyote, Physical Science Genius)is a great example of an author that is able to achieve that balance.

The author uses the conflict between Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner to explain Newton's Laws of Motion. The author begins by identifying and defining Newton's Laws of motions. He does that in a way accessible to elementary readers without losing the accuracy of the science concepts. The humor will encourage reluctant readers to stick with a topic that can sometimes be dry.

This is the kind of book that will encourage elementary readers to explore Newton's Laws and it is also a great way to help older reader's to also engage with the information. While amusing the information is accurate and the illustrations will help readers of all ages to understand the concepts being taught.

Smash! Wile E. Coyote Experiments with Simple Machines

Smash!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments with Simple Machines (Wile E. Coyote, Physical Science Genius) is a great introduction to simple machines for kids. While cartoon stories sometimes depend too much on the cartoons and not enough on the science, this book doesn't disappoint.

For those familiar with the Road Runner and Coyote episodes this book will have a predictable feel. Each chapter explores a different simple machine having Wile Coyote attempt to use that machine to attack the Road Runner. In keeping with the cartoon theme Road Runner escapes unharmed in each instance, but a valuable lesson is learned about simple machines.

Wile Coyote's story is a good fit for simple machines as he's always using different methods to attack his nemesis. The author does a good job in staying with the Coyote traditional story line and embedding the science vocabulary and concepts around the story without losing the continuity of the story.

This is actually one of the best simple machine children's books I've read to date. The language is accurate and detailed. Children who come to this story knowing little about simple machines will learn the names of the simple machines and discover more about how each is used while being entertained. For children who have been introduced to simple machines, this provides more information and a great funny review of the material.