I never liked science and I was never good in science…until now, in my 70s, I like science. Why? Because I read children’s books of science, with pictures, colors, clear instructions for hands-on experiments, and imagination.
Wait a minute! All science books with experiments that children can perform do not have clear instructions. Many science books for children have instructions that are complicated, even for adults. Following is one children’s science book that I can understand. I’ve even performed some of the experiments with children dear to me, from age five to 95. Yes, 95-year young children at heart can have fun and expand our minds by performing science experiments, too!
Cara Florance just came out with The Science Spell Book: Magical Experiments for Kids (2022). Each chapter highlights a natural phenomenon inspired by magic: Infusions (pH and indicators), Illunimation (light), Sorcery (forces), Alchemy (physicaland chemical changes), and Mimicry (biolgy-inspired engineering). The author introduces the history of the magic, along with the scientific concepts, plus an activity for each secion, plus a spell chant. Some of the natural ingredients used in the experiments, called “PH indicators found in nature,” include Butterfly Pea Flower, Red Cabbage, Onion Skins, Blueberry, and Turmeric. I’m in.
I actually performed a Butterfly Pea Flower experiement with my grandson, then five years old, elders in an assisted living community, and friends that I invited to a Butterfly Pea Flower tea in my garden.
Next, it’s “red cabbage” season and I have a big red cabbage in my frig. I’ll put on my witch’s cap and make a “Spectral Breath” from “Red Cabbage Indicator Solution” to change the color of a solution!
Color Inversion Spell:
A chameleon of a liquid dances through crystal lines
An image appears as the magic combines.
Absorb, spread, reace _ the liquid snakes through
What once was purple appears pink, gree, and blue.
Cara Florance
Sources:
Review: The Science Spell Book, http://magicalchildhood.com/homeschool/2022/09/17/review-the-science-spell-book/
2023 Finalist: Hands-on Science Book, The Science Spell Book: Magical Experiments for Kids, by Cara Florance. Sourcebooks Explore, 2022, https://www.sbfprize.org/the-science-spell-book
“The Science Spell Book: Magical Experiments for Kids(This link opens in a new tab)” by Cara Florance
Review by Linda Tripp, collection development librarian, SCLS, New Jersey, https://sclsnj.org/the-science-spell-book-magical-experiments-for-kids-by-cara-florance/.
I tend to speed read and speed listen, to get to the most interesting parts of a dialogue. For this read-aloud, I skipped to 1.7 minutes to read and listen to the organization of the book in the Contents. I would have preferred a narrator with a lower and slower voice, but the flip through was so enticing that I followed the rest of the read-aloud. I’d be interested in your view of the book.
