CYBILS JUNIOR HIGH NONFICTION: Unsinkable by Jessica Long & The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean


ABOUT THE BOOK

Born in Siberia with fibular hemimelia, Jessica Long was adopted from a Russian orphanage at thirteen months old and has since become the second most decorated U.S. Paralympic athlete of all time. Now, Jessica shares all the moments in her life—big and small, heartbreaking and uplifting—that led to her domination in the Paralympic swimming world. This photographic memoir, filled with photographs, sidebars, quotes, and more, will thrill her fans and inspire those who are hearing her story for the first time.

REVIEW

I really enjoyed this memoir by Jessica Long, Paralympic Swimming Champion.  The numerous photographs, beautiful book design, and casual text make it a great fit for it's intended audience.  Long tells her story in a fresh, appealing style.  She tells her story with honesty and openness, describing both successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses.  It was fascinating to read about her journey from Russian orphan to amputee athlete to Paralympian-in-training to Paralympic and World Champion.  The photographs are well-chosen and do a great job of highlighting the experiences that Long shares, taking the reader on the journey with her.  An inspiring and well-designed look into the experiences of  a young woman who found ways to overcome the challenges in her life.


ABOUT THE BOOK

A young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller The Disappearing Spoon, chronicling the extraordinary stories behind one of the greatest scientific tools in existence: the periodic table.

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?

The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, greed, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

Adapted for a middle grade audience, the young readers edition of The Disappearing Spoon offers the material in a simple, easy-to-follow format, with approximately 20 line drawings and sidebars throughout. Students, teachers, and burgeoning science buffs will love learning about the history behind the chemistry.

REVIEW

Science is often seen as completely factual and unbiased.  The stories in this book make it clear that science is as full of human foibles and problems as any other field.  While the discoveries shared in the book are fascinating and informative, it's the stories surrounding those discoveries that make the book so entertaining.  If more science books were written like this one I think more young people would read them.  The focus of the book is the periodic table of the elements, its creation, and the changes that have been made to it over the years.  Thankfully there is a copy of the table included in the book for easy reference.  The book is divided into five parts.  The first part focuses on the creation of the table.  The second part focuses on radioactivity and the creation of new elements from old ones.  Part three focuses on mistakes and rivalries.  Part four focuses on the economic, political, and artistic repercussions of elemental science. And the last part focuses on the relevance of the stories and discoveries of the past to modern science.  There is enough science in the book that some background knowledge of chemistry is helpful, at least I found it so, even though it has been many years since I studied it.  The combination of science and stories is a brilliant strategy that helps make the science easier to understand and makes it seem more relevant when the discoveries are put in context.  Both the best and worst of human nature shine through in these stories.  A great book for both young science lovers and science teachers.

Comments

  1. I am working my way through The Disappearing Spoon and am finding it fascinating. It had never really occurred to me before that the Period Table is still a work in progress. It is also fascinating to read about history from a scientific point of view rather than one focused on war.

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