Franklyn M. Branley (1915–2002)

As mentioned in my review of Seymour Simon's Gorillas, my children's book reading is mostly in the realm of fiction, so Janet Hamilton's recent Horn Book article (What Makes a Good Science Book?) had me whipping out pencil and paper, and taking note. Franklyn M. Branley's Gravity Is a Mystery, originally published in 1970, and part of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, was one of the first titles she discussed.

An informative introduction to the idea of gravity for young children, show more this picture-book does not offer a specific definition, because - as the title would suggest - "gravity is a mystery." Instead, it takes a question any young child might ask - "What would happen if you dug a hole through the earth, and fell into it?" - and expands outward from there, discussing the effects of gravity, both planetary and celestial. This approach allows for a clear and concise discussion of what we do know, while also emphasizing that there is much that we don't: we know what gravity does, we just don't know what it is.

I liked this approach, which really makes science seem exciting, with new discoveries to be made, new knowledge to be gained. Republished in 2007, with colorful new illustrations by Edward Miller, Gravity Is a Mystery is a fun book, both visually appealing and intellectually stimulating. If I were a primary-school science teacher trying to explain this concept, this is the book to which I would turn! show less

We live in an aerial ocean, and this is a very well done attempt to describe it to young children. We learn that air is everywhere in our world, even in water, and it's there even though you can't see it or smell it. But it's not in outer space. The book includes two simple experiments to try.

This is one of the older Let's-Read-And-Find-Out science books by the founding author. We recently checked out from our library several stage 1 books from this series, with mixed results for our show more 4-yr-old. In general it seemed she wasn't quite old enough. But this one, with the long drawn-out descriptions of the experiments, was somehow perfect and the most successful of the bunch. My daughter constantly tells me how air is all around us. She is fascinated. And, I've only read it to her twice. show less

Oh what a delight this book is! It contains the sounds, the pretty pictures and the small pieces of information peppered here and there that makes the subject of Rain come alive and endear to the readers. The author has successfully delivered scientific information in a very colorful, simple and interesting manner. Another commendable aspect of the book is the ethnic tolerance that the author has portrayed in the book by the creation of four children of varying racial descent –redhead, show more curly dark brown, blonde and Asian black. That’s a fantastic example to set for the children! The illustrations are vivid, colourful and depict fun activities through which kids can learn about the topic! Word Art has been employed to emphasize on certain words, like while explaining gloomy appearance of stormy clouds, the word “Darkened” has been made black in bold. Such visual stimulation will boost a child’s mind. The book is a very helpful, beginner’s learning manual for kids till the age of 9. The experiments described can also be executed in a classroom environment .I would strongly recommend the book. show less

There are not many high quality books about magnets geared towards lower elementary age children. Of what is available, this book is one of the best. It introduces the idea of fishing with magnets, what types of things magnets attract, what poles are and how they work, and also mentions the history of magnetism. This book is a little awkward to read, though, as it engages the PK-K audience with the first few pages, and then appeals more to the 1-3 audience with that last pages. I jump around show more a lot when I read this aloud to PK and 1st graders. I also need to supplement information. This book would be stronger if it contained real photographs of magnets, introduced some additional magnet experiments, or talked more about what they are and how they work in the intial pages and not towards the end. Still, I would recommend it to elementary science teachers. show less