Jon ChadRecensioni

Informative and fun, with some gorgeous artwork! Nice to see so much love given to pinball playfields.

Science Comic presents the discovery of elements on the periodic table and the understanding of the purpose of each element. Mel is left using her prior knowledge of each element to defeat the madman's evil schemes. Mel discovers the many patterns techniques and purposes for the 118 elements of the periodic table and how they can be used against the madman effectively.

I am loving this series. Volcanoes can be scary but this book explains how they are important and help promote life.

This is a graphic novel. The premise is that one kid is home sick and bored. Her friend comes by with a book about the solar system, so they invent a spaceship (with their pets as the fictional crew) to travel throughout the solar system – to the sun, then to all the planets and “belts” in between them and slightly beyond, where they learn about where they are visiting.

This is aimed toward kids, but I learned some stuff about the solar system, as well. I really enjoyed this. The pets as crew was kind of silly, but likely appealing to kids. I liked that there was a summary at the end of each planetary visit to explain some of the things learned. I also liked that they stopped at Pluto, even though it is no longer considered a planet. And I also enjoyed learning about a few of the planets’ moons. It was unfortunate temperatures were only in Fahrenheit, however. The illustrator did a really nice job, as well; the illustrations are all in colour.

Mel is having anxiety about their science test. When they fall asleep they dreams of a world where chemistry experiments have fallen into the wrong hands. Only Mel can use their knowledge of the periodic table to put an end to a maniacal madman's evil schemes.

A thoroughly engaging graphic narrative which is aimed at the younger age group in children's non-fiction. The concepts are clearly explained and a valuable building block to the chemistry students will encounter later in middle school science.

The adventures of 'Mel', the protagonist coping with these chemical characteristics will appeal to kids who enjoy the hero coping with difficulties of challenging molecules. It really is a fascinating way to demonstrate some basic principles.

This book is part of "Science Comics", a series which covers a broad selection of scientific principles. They're accurately written and reliably entertaining. Highly recommended!

Discover the wonders of Science Comics as you embark on an exciting journey through the vast expanse of the universe, from the mysteries hidden in the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space. Get an up-close and personal look at our neighboring planets, such as Venus with its acid rainstorms, Saturn and its magnificent icy rings, and the blazing heart of our solar system, the Sun. The human fascination with outer space continues to grow as we uncover new and fascinating information about our solar system with each passing day.

A fun history of pinball machines teaches me a lot about the game, gives me some nostalgic vibes about my favorite machines, and makes me almost want to see if there are any arcades near me. The author may be a little too close to the subject and allows his enthusiasm to result in some hyperbole and purple prose, but hey, that works fine in a comic book format.

nonfiction graphic history of pinball + game design

As you would expect from a book about a game with so many bells and whistles, there is a lot packed in here. Recommended for anyone with an interest.

The Science Comics series cleverly uses Socratic dialogue to teach comics-loving kids about scientific topics. Both of these books employ (usually) animal characters with well-drawn personalities asking questions and talking (or arguing) among themselves to propel the reader through an incredible quantity of facts. I love the device of a multi-party conversation because different readers may identify with different characters -- the know-it-all, or the quiet one, or the nervous one, or the bold one -- and keep reading to see how the argument resolves. Of the two, Solar System weights story more heavily, traversing the solar system, while Rockets is more of an argument among the characters that traverses the history of rocket technology. Both are fun. (Full disclosure: I wrote the introduction to Rockets and fact-checked Solar System.)

There is a lot of information in this book. In this book the earth being in an almost ice age because the sun's heat is not reaching it. The human's set out to find fuel in a desolate world. When they end up in a library they use a piece of equipment to harvest the knowledge and stories before burning the books. One of the books is about volcanoes and when Rory reads it, she is convinced that they should be able to find another way to heat the Earth. The book then gives information about tectonic plates, types of volcanoes, the earth's crust, lava and lots of other information about Volcanoes, fire and life. Of course the others do not believe her until they see steam coming from a crack. This could be overload for some readers but it is an interesting way to present the information to middle grade students.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great graphic novel to interest middle grade students in the Solar System. Sara is home sick from school and she is bored. Her friend Jill comes to visit and brings the book she has been reading called "Solar Systems." Using the book and her imaginations, she takes Sara on a trip through the Solar System on the ship called the Unbored. The crew on the ship are Sara's dog, and hamster and Jill's cat and snake. As they travel from the sun to the outer reaches of the solar system, they learn about each planet and the moons. They have to solve some problems and write short reports after each stop. It is a fun way to learn about the solar system and could be a starting point for further research into any of the things the ship encounters along the way. There are some great illustrations mixed in with the cartoon ones. A great addition to any school or class library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

I thoroughly enjoy the Science Comics line and this was another fascinating exploration. With a different but fun framing device, the information and the infectious presentation flow naturally. Art is detailed but not overbearing with colors that take advantage of the necessary reds and yellows.

Full disclosure: I love the Science Comics! I have bought several for my Library’s Youth Department and they are an automatic buy when new ones come out. In Solar System, we follow along with Sara as her best friend Jill regales her with an exciting adventure set in our Solar System.
Sara is home sick with a cold and bored out of her mind. Luckily her best friend Jill comes over to help cheer her up. She brings along a book about the Solar System which does not impress Sara. Using Sara’s pets, Jill creates an exciting story about a spaceship and its crew of “loyal Space Pets” who are cruising around the Solar System on a mission to destroy boredom and explore all the fascinating places in space.
Filled with equal amounts fun and facts, this book is sure to keep kids engaged as they learn about the wonders of the Solar System.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to reed and review this book.

Space Comics: Solar System is available September 18, 2018 from First Second Books.

First, I loved the illustrations. Incredibly well done, and there's a lot of it. The story itself is actually quite interesting, but the juxtaposition of science, with the fantasy world of the earth's core, plus a magical knife that cut everything seemed like a cop out when Leo Geo says multiple times that he is going to use science to get himself out of situations.½

This book is interesting primarily because of its creative physical format. The shape is short and wide but is intended to be read when turned sideways, so that the length of each page is essentially doubled. This should make it a fun read for kids, but it is a bit awkward to handle and/or store with other books. I found the book entertaining and informational, but with its non-color, pen-and-ink design, I kept wanting to get some colored pencils of fine-point markers to brighten it up! I think that this might even be a way to utilize the book, by getting the publisher's permission to photocopy any portion of it for students to add their creative talents to the illustrations. While it is an obvious candidate for sharing with science-minded students, it might also help interest students who are more visually and artistically oriented to learn more about a subject of less interest to them.

Leo Geo and the Cosmic Crisis by Jon Chad is the second of the science / science fiction graphic novels featuring Leo Geo. The first one took Leo Geo through the center of the Earth and on some Jules Verne inspired adventures. This one takes Leo and his brother on adventures through space.

As with the first book which required reading the book in an up and down fashion and then a down to up fashion as Leo Geo passed through the center, this one also has an unusual schema. Cosmic Crisis is like those old dime store two-in-one novels where one printed upside down and the two books met and ended in the middle. Here though, it's two related adventures: one being Leo's, and one being his brothers.

As my public libraries tends to hide all the relevant cover stuff under their copious stickers (library sticker, barcode, genre sticker, spine label), I mistook the brother's cover as the actual start of the book. So I ended up reading about the brother's rescue of Leo Geo before I read about Leo Geo leaving to rescue his brother. As you can guess — the brothers are working on only partial information due to a communications outage.

As the brothers are traveling through space, the pages are filled with background information about different aspects of space: facts about stars, planets, light speed, and so forth. The artwork in these books is very busy but its worth taking time to read and look at everything, either by going slowly through the book or by doing a second read later.

I don't know if more Leo Geo books are planned but if there were a third one, I'd definitely read it.½

It's not something I particularly care for but I can see a lot of kids loving this comical adventure story that starts at opposite ends filled with weird minutiae.

Leo Geo and His Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth by Jon Chad has a long title and a long adventure — one that goes right through the center of Earth! Jon Chad mixes science fiction and science fact to create a memorable tween graphic novel.

Leo Geo has a giant drill and he plans to ride it through to the center of the earth. Along the way he'll point out the sites. He'll see unusual formations, magma and some unexpected residents!

As this is a book about digging, the reader is asked to turn the book on its side after the introduction. Thus most of the book is read like a flip book, making it awkward but fun to read.

In terms of artistic style and whimsy Chad's artwork reminds me of Windsor McCay (Little Nemo). He uses a bold line and intricate details to flesh out the subterranean worlds.

Rated a bit higher than the story involves, because I liked the clever formatting.

Love Leo Geo! A fun blend of facts and fantasy of journeying to the center of the Earth. Also love the design of the book, very clever concept that was very well done, art and text. Great read for boys that are into science and science-fiction.

Not for the vertically challenged reader.

Awesome book. Tough to store on a shelf.