My Little Handbook of Experiments: Sciences, Water and Light, Ecology

Gr 2–4—This import packs a loosely defined collection of science activities into three sections that rehash ones that you've seen many times before. The unspecified "Sciences" section is a jumble of approximately 18 activities including color, electricity and magnets, plus photography, astronomy, meteorology, and more. "Water and Light" and "Ecology" are more cohesive but follow the same scrambled path, jumping from topic to topic and seldom explaining the principles behind the phenomena. Each activity begins with a highlighted sidebar of vaguely described and illustrated ingredients. A "Did you know…" sidebar balances the spread, often extending but rarely explaining the science involved in the activity. Directions fill the middle of the spread and are numbered but can be unclear due, at least in part, to translation problems. The accompanying spot illustrations lack enough accuracy and detail to be helpful. Separate glossaries, identified as "ABC Sciences," "ABC Water and Light," etc., are an inscrutable collection of terms that are not well integrated into the rest of the volume and have mistakes and oversimplifications.—Carol S. Surges, Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI