The Elements Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table

Gr 5–7—An array of glittering crystals, lambent chunks of ore, and artistically posed lab samples that were all definitely ready for their close-ups are paired with equally vivid photos of manufactured products, scientific instruments, works of art, prominent scientists, and large-scale natural features to give this tour of the periodic table a strongly visual character. Arranged not by atomic number but (more logically) in groups, the 118 entries each contain examples of an element's various forms and common uses, diagrams of atomic structures, and, occasionally, a side profile of the element's discoverer or namesake. The narrative text is often rather squeezed into a ribbon along the lower margins, offering pithy explanatory comments on the pictures, which are accompanied by clearly visible labels and captions. Jackson occasionally makes simplistic claims, such as assertions that there are only three states of matter (more than a dozen have been demonstrated or theorized) and that Robert Boyle was the first to conduct chemistry experiments. Still, his information is precise, concise, and current enough to include the recently assigned permanent names for elements 113, 115, 117, and 118.