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Book Review: “The Stunning Science of Everything” by Nick Arnold and Tony de Saulles

January 5, 2010 2 Comments by bekahcubed

Got a child (or a father) who’s crazy about science? The Stunning Science of Everything: Science with the squishy bits left in might be just the book for you.

Stunning Science is filled with hard-core science (chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, cosmology, geology, and more) delivered in a seriously fun way. Stunning Science includes comic strips, quiz shows, letters home, and some crazy amazing recipes.

Check out this first recipe for a hydrogen atom:
(Ingredients and extra notes omitted to avoid overly plagiarizing!)

Preheat your universe to 10 billion degrees Centigrade and set off Big Bang

Mix in the quarks and stir well.

Cook the quarks for a split second until the strong force glues them together to make a proton. Be careful–if you mix two up quarks and one down quark you’ll be making a neutron by mistake!

Cool slowly for 380,000 years, add an electron and serve.

If you haven’t figured out yet, this book is Big-Bang friendly. In fact, the Big Bang is probably found in half of the layouts. Those who are uncomfortable with the Big Bang might find this a bit too much. As for myself, I am pleased to see the topic addressed in a matter of fact way with good explanations of the implications of the big bang to life (creation of matter, heat, etc.) The big bang is currently the best theory for the origins of the Universe, and it clearly affirms the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing). I am pleased to see a children’s science book focusing on this, rather than, say, evolution.

Speaking of evolution…this title includes the obligatory spread or two on evolution, but I found the coverage of evolution to be remarkably understated. While parents would want to talk openly with their kids about what the children are reading, I don’t think the inclusion of the couple of spreads on evolution should be reason to not select this book.

I was most impressed with the science found in this book–and how remarkably accurate and detailed the information is. Stunning Science doesn’t water down the facts or give simplistic explanations. It says science the way it is. My dad, on the other hand, was impressed by the humour found in this book. This title is absolutely comical. From word-play to geeky humour to occasional “bad guy gets bad stuff” and the more common bathroom humour, this book is packed with puns and more that’ll keep kids (and fathers) laughing out loud as they learn.

Rating: 4 Stars
Category: Children’s Science
Summary:A quick and humorous science of everything, from the tiny atom to the enormous universe and everything in between.
Recommendation: This title is a great bet for science-loving kids (or kids at heart). Parents might want to preview it before buying, though, to determine whether the Big Bang cosmology, discussion of evolution, and bathroom humor are within their standards of acceptability.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “Forever, Erma” by Erma Bombeck

March 1, 2009 Leave a comment by bekahcubed

In a world where humor is euphemism for vulgarity and attacks on traditional morality, Erma Bombeck is sweet relief. Her columns addressed home life with humour and class–without requiring the “potty language” and liberal venom so characteristic of today’s “humor”.

Forever, Erma is a collection of Erma Bombeck’s best columns compiled post-humously. The short columns address everything from teaching your children about the “birds and the bees” via fish, the power of a mother’s saliva for cleaning a child’s face, dealing with a child saying “you don’t love me”, never being able to find a pencil when you need one, and the never ending mystery of the uncoupled sock.

Erma primarily focuses on day-to-day home life–things everyone can identify with, either as a parent, a householder, or as a child within a household. The columns in this collection were written from 1965 to 1996–but they carry timeless appeal. As long as the laundry still needs done and carpools still need managing, Erma Bombeck’s writing will remain current.

Rating: 4 stars
Category: Humour
Synopsis: a gentle look at the humour of everyday life as a homemaker and mother
Recommendation: A great chance for homemakers and mothers (stay-at-home or work-away) to laugh at life without feeling sorry for themselves.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Adventure” by Caroline Alexander

February 28, 2009 Leave a comment by bekahcubed

I’ve written about Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic adventures before when I reviewed Frank Worsley’s Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure. Caroline Alexander’s coverage of the story couldn’t be more different–but is still perfectly satisfactory.

While Worsley’s memoir focuses on the main characters involved in the adventure (from Worsley’s point of view), Alexander’s history gives a clear chronology of the events of the failed Antarctic Expedition. Alexander makes liberal use of the various adventurers’ journals and memoirs to compile a straightforward history of the events the Expedition endured.

Although I’ve read several books and watched several movies and documentaries covering this story, I still learned a good deal as I read The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Adventure. I was able to get a feel for the boredom of being stuck in the ice, for the distress and loss of hope after being stranded on a floating pack for months on end, for the tireless vigor with which several men stepped up to overcome impossible odds.

Worsley’s memoir brought the leaders of the expedition into sharp relief and emphasized the acute attacks of the elements. Alexander’s history helped me understand the less exciting, but certainly no less perilous odds the men had to overcome: the monotony of daily life on a floating pack, the weariness of seeing the same landscape day in and day out, the shock having to kill daily in order to eat, the delirium of seeing land for the first time in a year. This history brought the psychological elements of the Expedition into focus, emphasizing the delicate path Shackleton was forced to trod to maintain morale.

Frank Hurley’s breath-taking photos of the Endurance, its crew, and the Antarctic landscape are sprinkled throughout this book, increasing the depth of its already fantastic coverage of Shackleton’s Expedition.

Rating: 4 Stars
Category:History
Recommendation: A spectacular overview of Shackleton’s Antarctic adventure, this is a must read for lovers of history and adventure.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “A Single Thread” by Marie Bostwick

February 1, 2009 Leave a comment by bekahcubed

After her husband divorces her, Evelyn Dixon packs her bags and heads across the country to open a quilt shop in a town she’s only visited once. She’s overworked and alone–trying a last ditch promotion to keep her store from going under–when she receives news that could change her life forever.

Abigail Burgess Wynne lives a comfortable life as town patroness, socially active but aloof. That is, until she’s given custody of her delinquent formerly estranged niece Liza. When Liza blackmails her aunt into attending Evelyn Dixon’s quilting event, Abigail’s isolated life changes course.

A Single Thread tells the story of the unlikely community formed when four women are brought together at a quilting event. Each woman’s life is changed by her interactions with the others.

A Single Thread is a well-written book–the plot is interesting, the characters strong–but the beauty of this book is in its depiction of community. Most novels use their characters like game pieces, manipulating them to fit the plot. In A Single Thread, the character’s interactions MAKE the plot as each woman grows through relationship with the others.

Rating: 4 stars
Category:Novel
Recommendation: A novel of the highest quality, I highly recommend it to all lovers of general fiction.