Alphabetical Science and Math. I Mean Math and Science.

David Schwartz has written many books for kids, two of which caught my eye just because of the cover design and art.  This is precisely the method I use to pick out wine for my husband.   If there is creativity put into the label, surely there is a similar zest placed in the making of the wine inside the bottle!  However untrustworthy this approach might seem, the trail generally leads to some pleasant places, so I’m sticking with the technique.

These two books serve to break down big concepts in math and science into little, digestible, tasty chunks.  How appealing!  Fit for 9-12 year olds and a nice example of a ‘living math’ approach, or science as it were.

Each letter of the alphabet introduces a different scientific term.  E is for element, O is for Occam’s Razor (Jodie Foster talked about this in her movie Contact!  That just stuck in my brain, for whatever reason, and came out now, like matter coming out of a black hole billions of years later), Q is for Quark and so on.

This book was written first by Mr. Schwartz and it assembled a nice healthy following of adoring parents and teachers.  “W” is for “When are we ever going to use this stuff, anyway?”  A question with universal appeal amongst elementary age children!