Review of Physical Science for Kids by Andi Diehn

Yesterday Amazon delivered my set of Physical Science for Kids books, part of Nomad's Picture Book Science series. I wanted to take the opportunity to review this wonderful series for those of you that may not be familiar with it. Designed for early elementary age students (K-3) this series of 4 books by Andi Diehn is a fun, thought provoking and age appropriate introduction to physical science for kids.

The format of each of the four books (Waves, Matter, Forces, and Energy) is similar. They begin with a 1 page poem about the topic, followed by 27 pages of expository non-fiction with full color illustrations and ends with a glossary page. The non-fiction section of the book is told in narrative format. It begins with a non-scientific definition of the title term that relates directly back to the child's experience in a funny, relatable way. After a couple of pages a scientific definition of the term is presented using real world examples to illustrate the concept.

The books are peppered throughout with questions to the reader that encourage them engage with the text. Bold text brings attention to important ideas or concepts and each book contains 1 or 2 experiments and associated questions to demonstrate the concept. Aside from the format, each books is full of scientifically accurate information. The books always remain age appropriate without making concessions to the depth of the scientific information presented or the detail. Concepts covered in each book are outlined below:

Waves: 1. Wave motion is up and down, not side to side. 2. Waves happen because of energy. 3. Waves describe the movement of light. 4. Invisible waves are all around us and include sound waves. 5. Earthquakes are the result of energy waves.

Matter: 1. What is matter. 2. Almost everything, including air is made of matter. 3. Matter comes in many shapes and sizes and can exist in 4 states (solid, liquid, gas, plasma). 5. Light is not matter.

Forces: 1. What are forces. 2. Gravity is a force that holds everything together. 3. Magnetism is a force that can repel or attract. 4. Forces can pull or push and have different strengths. 5. Friction is a force.

Energy: 1. People and animals need energy as do animals. 2. Animals and plants do different things to get more energy. 3. Types of Energy including chemical, electrical, and light. 4. Other than light energy, all energy is invisible..

With humor and beautiful full-color illustrations by Shululu throughout, the books are a great first non-fiction read for children.

While my son is still too young for a read-aloud of these books at 2, I can easily see where 4 and 5 year old would enjoy these. I'd recommend using them as a read-out-loud for younger kids while kids on the higher end of the age range for the book would find them a great self read.