Muriel Mandell

This book is a thick compendium of science for elementary school students. It's not all experiments, precisely; there are occasional art projects and did-you-know topics interspersed, but probably close to 700 are science based activities or demonstrations. Experiments in the sense of having a control etc. are not distinguished from these; the authors are not pedants; but the book is not less appealing for taking a little leeway with vocabulary.

However, because of this it's not precisely science curriculum, but a resource for enrichment. And as such it's quite good. I read at least 100 of the activities. I'm impressed with how easy they are to set up and complete, and how everyday the required materials really are. Many such books derail lesson planning with sudden demands for plasticine, iodine, or other items that are common but not used everyday. The only difficulty I see with this one is that so many of the activities in the electricity section require the use of pennies, which were withdrawn from circulation in Canada several years ago. Canadians will need to exert themselves.

The book comprises five volumes previously published separately but reorganized for this volume. It's now arranged topically in sections of about 10 to 20 pages each with an introduction followed by a dozen or more activities. That's a good size, with enough material to give an overview but not so much as to be tedious or lose focus. Very occasionally an activity that belongs in two sections will be repeated in each, which is convenient.

I'm looking forward to doing many of these activities with my grandchildren during their weekends and school holidays. Meanwhile, every time I visit Michigan I'm going to be saving pennies.… (altro)

A Donkey Reads
By Muriel Mandell, Illustrations by Andre Letria
2011, Starbright Books
Review by Debra L Scott, 12/14/2011

This is a fun retelling of a Turkish Folktale. A small village is taken over by a Mongol tyrant who demands that the poor villagers pay him tribute. One family has barely enough food for their table and can think of nothing to offer except an old donkey. The tyrant becomes angry and threatens to whip the father who dared offer such an unworthy gift. But before the tyrant can punish him, the village wise man steps up and tells the Mongol that the donkey is very intelligent and that he can teach him to read!

Well written and entertaining, children will love hearing about how the clever villager tricks the cruel tyrant and saves the poor family from punishment. The only thing that may be an issue is this sentence at the very beginning: “Once, many years ago, a small village in Anatolia inhabited by the Seljuks was conquered by the Mongols.” It is the only sentence in the story with words that may be unfamiliar not only to children, but to many adults reading it. One might conclude that the rest of the story is likewise difficult to understand, and miss a delightful tale. I would hope that parents and teachers will look past it, or be ready with an answer as to who the Seljuks and the Mongols are, and that Anatolia is the old name for Turkey.… (altro)