Volume 1 Number 6
July 21, 1995

Silly Science: Strange and Startling Projects to Amaze your Family and Friends.
Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone
Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. 96pp, paper, $12.95.
ISBN 0-471-11013-2.

Grades 3 - 7 / Ages 8 - 12.

Review by Joan Payzant.

excerpt:

Did You Know?

Fossil dinosaur bones are easily mistaken for rocks. One way to identify the bones is to touch them to your lower lip. The bones will stick to your lip and the rocks will fall off.

The largest meat-eating dinosaur was the Tyrannosaurus rex. This giant was first discovered in 1900 at Hell Creek, Montana. A T.rex could be up to 45 feet (13.7m) long and 20 feet (6m) tall and have a skull 5 1/2 feet (1.7 m) long.

The authors of Silly Science are well qualified to write this entertaining and educational book. Both of Vancouver, Shar Levine is the former owner of Einstein's book and toy store and is the co-author of ``Projects for a Healthy Planet" and ``Einstein's Science Parties." Leslie Johnstone, an elementary school teacher, is an editor of the B.C. teachers' journal, ``Catalyst." Together with illustrator Ed Shems (whose cartoon-like drawings enliven each experiment) they have produced a book that will attract a wide readership, with the added bonus of providing hours of worthwhile activities.

Each experiment illustrates a scientific principle, forming a single chapter in the book. Each of these has the same basic format: a list of what is needed to perform the experiment, what to do, an explanation of what happened, and a ``did you know" section (see excerpt above) that enlarges on the scientific principle. Some of the intriguing chapter titles are: ``Genie in a Bottle," ``Glub," ``Electric Pencil," and ``Fast Money."

Guaranteed to whet a reader's appetite for experimentation. Glossary and index included.

Recommended.

Also by the same authors Everyday Science: Fun and Easy Projects for Making Practical Things.

Joan Payzant is a retired teacher/librarian in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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