The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Elements: The Powers, Uses, and Histories of Every Atom in the Universe by Lisa Congdon, 148 pp, RL 3

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The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Elements: 

The Powers, Uses, and Histories of Every Atom in the Universe 

by Lisa Congdon

Review Copy from Chronicle Books

Congdon, a fine artist, illustrator, author, educator and creativity motivator brings her talents to the world of children's books with this eye-catching overview of the elements that is sure to get kids - and adults - turning pages and devouring details. While Congdon does a great job building a foundation on which readers can understand this "catalog of everything tangible in our world," your first instinct might be to flip through the pages and let the illustrations draw you in. Each element, ordered by its number, has a fact box accompanying it that has the category, year discovered, discoverer and sometimes a fun fact. Interspersed with the elements are chunks of information about scientists, deadly elements, radioactivity, transuranic elements and particle accelerators.

Gatefold endpapers start the book with the periodic table of elements. Back matter includes "Standout Chemists of the Periodic Table," a glossary and an index.

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