Simple Machines FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Armin Brott
Despite what you may remember from your own childhood, physics can be fun. And you don't need a lot of fancy equipment to get the point across either. In fact, if you've got some thick books, empty milk cartons, thread, scissors, tape, boards, marbles, eggs, and a few other things around the house, you can set up your own fully-stocked science lab in a jiffy. Easy-to-follow directions immediately engage kids in learning how levers, gears, wheels, pulleys, screws, and wedges work. There's a more adult explanation of each experiment in the back of the book as well as a brief glossary of terms covered. A great addition for any early grade school science class.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4Using primary background colors and attractive, enthusiastic children as models, the format of this series is spacious and packs visual punch. Each book contains 13 experiments that are clearly explained in the full-color photographs and step-by-step directions. The texts are set in blocks that list the materials needed, the methodology, and an explanation of the principle shown. In Simple Machines, the lever, wheel, wheel and axle, gears, pulleys, inclined plane, screw, and combinations of basic machines are explored. One activity, which involves moving a friend lying on a table by using a broomstick placed over a wooden chair as a lever and fulcrum, could be problematic. In Solids, Liquids and Gases, the properties of matter are explained using common experiments such as making ice cream. In general, safety precautions are indicated in the text or illustrated in the photographs. Expansions of each activity are included in an appendix. These lively titles are far more attractive than Anne Horvatic's Simple Machines (Dutton, 1989; o.p.) and more interactive than Michael Dahl's "Early Reader Science" series (Children's, 1996).Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4--Using primary background colors and attractive, enthusiastic children as models, the format of this series is spacious and packs visual punch. Each book contains 13 experiments that are clearly explained in the full-color photographs and step-by-step directions. The texts are set in blocks that list the materials needed, the methodology, and an explanation of the principle shown. In Simple Machines, the lever, wheel, wheel and axle, gears, pulleys, inclined plane, screw, and combinations of basic machines are explored. One activity involves moving a friend lying on a table by using a broomstick placed over a wooden chair as a lever and fulcrum, which could be problematic. In Solids, Liquids and Gases, the properties of matter are explained using common experiments such as making ice cream. In general, safety precautions are indicated in the text or illustrated in the photographs. Expansions of each activity are included in an appendix. These lively titles are far more attractive than Anne Horvatic's Simple Machines (Dutton, 1989; o.p.) and more interactive than Michael Dahl's "Early Reader Science: Simple Machines" (Bridgestone, 1996).--Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH
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