I wish I'd had this during my high school chemistry classes. At the time, I felt as if I'd been thrown into the stoichiometry deep end with only the vaguest of conceptual life rafts. The way this book breaks down how elements are related and connected to each other...how they were discovered and what they're used for...even the brief mention at the end of why elements are reactive/non-reactive and how they bond with other elements...all of this would've been a welcome conceptual framework as I began diving deeper into the subject.

There are a few typos and some entries where the symbols describing the element contradict the text (e.g., the symbol indicates the element is a strong conductor while the text says it's non-conductive), but overall, this is a vivid, engaging, and very thorough introduction to the periodic table and the elements. It made me want to try a chemistry class again...maybe this time it wouldn't feel as if I were beating my head against a brick wall. ( )

Isabel Thomas and her illustrator, Sara Gillingham, have forged a handy reference book for teenagers (not children.) The book is well organized, explains the periodical table, breaking it into manageable sections. There is a great deal of information packed into this colorful book: fun facts, how elements got their name, how they are used or impossible to find in nature, etc. However, after awhile, things begin to blend together (not the elements), but the facts and details become overwhelming. ( )