Simon Basher

This adroit and delightful introduction to an oft-recondite topic covers a lot of ground in charming yet substantial fashion. I recall being disappointed as a child that atoms weren't really little beings with faces (the fact that they were so small made up for that, however); this book anthropomorphizes Blackbody Radiation, Friction, Entropy and Sound! And does it quite well, too! A fine and unique science read on any level, and highly recommended.

The Basher Science book OCEANS MAKING WAVES! is a great book to introduce students to some key concepts about the ocean in a fun way. The writer, Dan Green, does an excellent job of making the text fun for students to read. Each of the topics in the book is presented in a story narrative format. For example, when students read about the Mid-ocean Ridge, instead of just reading facts, the author turns the Mid-ocean Ridge into a character who is telling his own story. The use of first person show more makes the book more accessible for students because it gives the information in a more informal way. Students will also really enjoy the cartoons. The glossary and index help to add to the user-friendliness of this text. This book would be great to use in a science class during a unit on oceans. It would also been interesting to use this book in an English class to discuss how to effectively use first-person when writing. show less

This book explains who is affected by climate change, what environmental processes drive global warming, when major changes began, where impacts are occurring, and why climate action matters. The intended audience is middle-grade readers who enjoy visual, simplified presentations of complex topics. Academic vocabulary includes greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, sustainability, mitigation, and ecosystem disruption. The content aligns with social studies concepts of human-environment show more interaction, global citizenship, and environmental policy, and I would use it to support data interpretation and map-reading activities. Because its visuals and character-style explanations engage hesitant readers, the book helps make climate literacy accessible. It is a strong library addition since environmental issues are relevant to both science and social studies units. show less

The author of this book makes a variety of chemistry topics come alive in short, crazy, funny stories of characters like the "obnoxious organics", "bright sparks", "lab rats" and the "nasty boys". Difficult chemistry topics like how compounds are formed, how chemical reactions occur, what are precipitates, ions and pH are all explained. Each story is accompanied by silly images of the characters. The book is grouped into sections, like chapters, with related chemistry terms organized into show more each section. This book makes complicated chemistry topics easy to understand and fun. This is a great read aloud book for any age group science class. It was the highlight of my 5th grade science class one lesson. The students really got into it and wanted me to read more. show less