Scholastic Sale Damage

This weekend, a friend and I volunteered at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale.  It was a great way to earn some money to spend at the sale, and spend I did!  I spent my voucher plus a good deal of money.  However, I purchased approximately 60 books for 1/3 of their retail price.  Needless to say, you can expect a lot of reviews over the next few weeks!  I was lucky enough to purchase a lot of very new titles, specifically a few mentioned on some mock Newbery lists.  🙂

The Periodic Table: Elements With Style! by Adrian Dingle

I admit it-  I hate chemistry. I was a Biology girl in high school, all the way up to AP Bio and AP Environmental Science. The year of chemistry I had to take was like a form of forced torture. Math was my worst subject, and chemistry involved a lot of math. The Periodic Table of Elements still gives me hives. Then, I found Adrian Dingle’s The Periodic Table. 

The Periodic Table: Elements With Style is written in a way that makes learning fun. With its colorful illustrations, the text draws you in and makes you want to read each page. Each element has its own page and the text is written in first-person, as if the element is telling you it’s own story. Every element has a distinctive personality, from the diva to the gangsta to the good girl. I laughed out loud on many pages and learned something new about each element.  If I had been able to read this book in high school, I might have done a little better in chemistry! I read through this book in about an hour, but that was a quick read. I definitely plan to go back and re-read to really absorb the information.  

This is a great non-fiction book, and could easily be used in the classroom from middle school to college.  Heck, I might even give to a college student who is taking chemistry their freshman year!  The language is simple and easy to follow, but full of information.  This little book packs a big punch!