The Periodic Table (Simon Basher book)
Encyclopedia
The Periodic Table: Elements with Style is a 2007 children's science book created by Simon Basher and written by Adrian Dingle. It is the first book in Basher's science series, which includes Physics: Why Matter Matters!, Biology: Life As We Know It, Astronomy: Out of this World!, Rocks and Minerals: A Gem of a Read, and Planet Earth: What planet are you on? each of which is 128 pages long.
The book is arranged in eleven chapters plus an introduction, and includes a poster in the back of the book. Each chapter is on a different group of the periodic table
(hydrogen
, the alkali metal
s, the alkaline earth metal
s, the transition metal
s, the boron group
, the carbon group
, the pnictogens
, the chalcogen
s, the halogen
s, the noble gas
es, the inner transition metals and the transactinides). For every type of then known atom, Basher has created a "manga-esque" cartoon, and for almost every type of then known atom, Dingle, a high-school chemistry teacher who also developed an award-winning chemistry website has written a couple paragraphs of facts to go with the cartoon. Dingle, who says that "[s]cience is a serious business", wanted in writing the book "to get people engaged is to make it accessible while still presenting hard facts and knowledge," while Basher was concerned that the book's design be "sharp and focused" in order to "connect with today's visually advanced young audience."
said that the book was a "lively introduction to the chart that has been the bane of many a chemistry student", and in a review in New Scientist
, Vivienne Greig called The Periodic Table "an engrossing read and an ideal way to painlessly impart a great deal of science history to seen-it-all-before teenagers." A review on the Royal Society of Chemistry
website had some minor reservations about the book, but said it was "endearing" and succeeded in making learning chemistry easier and more fun.
Despite the fact that Dingle and Basher never met each other while the book was being produced another reviewer, Nancy Atkinson, writes that "Dingle’s prose and Basher’s artwork mesh seamlessly together to provide each element with its own distinguishing persona" and claims that the book "will light a flame in children (and adults, too!) for an interest in science..."
The Periodic Table: Elements with style has also been reviewed in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and the Journal of Chemical Education.
The book is arranged in eleven chapters plus an introduction, and includes a poster in the back of the book. Each chapter is on a different group of the periodic table
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
(hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, the alkali metal
Alkali metal
The alkali metals are a series of chemical elements in the periodic table. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, the alkali metals comprise the group 1 elements, along with hydrogen. The alkali metals are lithium , sodium , potassium , rubidium , caesium , and francium...
s, the alkaline earth metal
Alkaline earth metal
The alkaline earth metals are a group in the periodic table. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, the alkaline earth metals are called the group 2 elements. Previously, they were called the Group IIA elements . The alkaline earth metals contain beryllium , magnesium , calcium , strontium , barium and...
s, the transition metal
Transition metal
The term transition metal has two possible meanings:*The IUPAC definition states that a transition metal is "an element whose atom has an incomplete d sub-shell, or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell." Group 12 elements are not transition metals in this definition.*Some...
s, the boron group
Boron group
The boron group is the series of elements in group 13 of the periodic table, comprising boron , aluminium , gallium , indium , thallium , and ununtrium . The elements in the boron group are characterized by having three electrons in their outer energy levels...
, the carbon group
Carbon group
The carbon group is a periodic table group consisting of carbon , silicon , germanium , tin , lead , and ununquadium ....
, the pnictogens
Nitrogen group
The nitrogen group is a periodic table group consisting of nitrogen , phosphorus , arsenic , antimony , bismuth and ununpentium ....
, the chalcogen
Chalcogen
The chalcogens are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family...
s, the halogen
Halogen
The halogens or halogen elements are a series of nonmetal elements from Group 17 IUPAC Style of the periodic table, comprising fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , and astatine...
s, the noble gas
Noble gas
The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with very low chemical reactivity...
es, the inner transition metals and the transactinides). For every type of then known atom, Basher has created a "manga-esque" cartoon, and for almost every type of then known atom, Dingle, a high-school chemistry teacher who also developed an award-winning chemistry website has written a couple paragraphs of facts to go with the cartoon. Dingle, who says that "[s]cience is a serious business", wanted in writing the book "to get people engaged is to make it accessible while still presenting hard facts and knowledge," while Basher was concerned that the book's design be "sharp and focused" in order to "connect with today's visually advanced young audience."
Critical response
Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
said that the book was a "lively introduction to the chart that has been the bane of many a chemistry student", and in a review in New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
, Vivienne Greig called The Periodic Table "an engrossing read and an ideal way to painlessly impart a great deal of science history to seen-it-all-before teenagers." A review on the Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
website had some minor reservations about the book, but said it was "endearing" and succeeded in making learning chemistry easier and more fun.
Despite the fact that Dingle and Basher never met each other while the book was being produced another reviewer, Nancy Atkinson, writes that "Dingle’s prose and Basher’s artwork mesh seamlessly together to provide each element with its own distinguishing persona" and claims that the book "will light a flame in children (and adults, too!) for an interest in science..."
The Periodic Table: Elements with style has also been reviewed in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and the Journal of Chemical Education.
External links
- Simon Basher's website
- Adrian Dingle's award-winning chemistry website
- Kingfisher - publisher's website
- The Periodic Table - publisher's book page
- Basher books website