Book Reviews - December 2008 - Volume 108 (8)

Three reviews: Awesome Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism; Weather Mania; and How Bright is Your Brain?

Awesome Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism

Author: Michael A. DiSpezio
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
1998; 160 pages
Paperback; $7.95

Weather Mania

Author: Michael A. DiSpezio
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
2002; 80 pages
Paperback; $6.95

How Bright is Your Brain?

Author: Michael A. DiSpezio
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
2004; 80 pages
Paperback; $14.95

Reviewer: John Eichinger
California State University, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90032

Here are three more delightful books from Michael A. DiSpezio: Awesome Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism, Weather Mania, and How Bright is Your Brain?. All are engaging, well illustrated, engaging, humorous, and scientifically enlightening. All three appear to be aimed at students in upper elementary through middle school grades.

The first book, Awesome Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism, is packed with informative, safe, and question-generating activities. Easily adaptable to classroom needs, science fair projects, and/or informal science study, these activities allow learners to understand science content by building, experimenting, applying, and wondering. The book is divided into three sections, “Static Electricity,” “Current Electricity,” and “Magnets and Magnetism,” each of which contains more than twenty associated experiments. Catherine Leary's black line illustrations are clear and helpful.

The next book, Weather Mania, is large format, informative, and, once again, filled with activities for young scientists. The book's thirty-seven sections include “Blowing in the Wind,” “How Fast is Fast,” “Bad Hair Day,” “Hurricanes,” and “Weather Maps.” A particularly attractive feature of Weather Mania is its thoughtful inclusion of mathematics in many of the activities. The colorful illustrations, courtesy of Dave Garbot, also add a great deal to the book.

The third, How Bright is Your Brain?, is probably the most interactive of the books, as it invites young readers to think about their own thinking, and to discover more about how their minds operate. There are plenty of engaging activities and brain puzzlers to go along with the substantial amount of background information regarding the brain and its function. Topics of study include “Down the Middle,” “Pain: It's All in Your Head,” “Animal Brains,” “Multiple Intelligences,” “Finding Creativity,” “Sleep Tight,” “A Smarter Future,” and many more. Catherine Leary's colorful illustrations complement DiSpezio's appealing style.

Each of the three books is well indexed and thoughtfully organized. The author frequently includes interdisciplinary connections (e.g., mathematics, history, and geography). They are all NSES-friendly and demonstrate a healthy balance of science processes and content knowledge on nearly every page. I am sure that my six-year old twin boys will enjoy these books in just a few years. I was surprised, however, that none of the books offer references for further study or related web sites, which would seem to have been helpful additions, given the grade levels for which the books were written.

All in all, Awesome Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism, Weather Mania, and How Bright is Your Brain? are welcome additions to home, classroom, and school-wide libraries. Curious young readers will find a great deal to ponder and explore as they read these outstanding books.