The Kid's Book of The Elements!

There’s a new version of my book The Elements coming out!

The original was publishing waaaaaay back in 2009, and it’s been in print and selling well ever since. I wrote two sequels, Molecules and Reactions, and with my publisher we created, so far, three spin-offs of the main book directed at younger kids: My First Elements and ABC Elements (both board books for toddlers), and now, just in time for the apocalypse, The Kid’s Book of The Elements, intended for intermediate-age kids.

One of the most surprising things about the original Elements book is that so many kids read it. I thought I was writing for adults, or maybe older teens, but a lot of the email I get is from 8-10-year-olds (or their parents). I suspect that these are not your average 8-10-year-olds. They are the ones who read books about elements and get so interested that they end up writing to the author.

This new Kids Book of the Elements is a lighter take on the subject: one example per element instead of a dozen. I think it will be just right for a larger percentage of kids.

Which version should you get for your kid? If they know more about science than you do, get the full, original book. If they ask you questions about quantum mechanics at dinner, maybe get them the whole Elements/Molecules/Reactions trilogy.

If you’d like them to be more interested in science but you’re not sure they’ll take to it, and they are in the 5-10 range, consider getting the Kid’s Book of the Elements first. See how it goes. If they read it in one sitting and you get a lot of questions, then move on to the original: they’re ready for it.

Starting from the other direction, if you’ve got a 3-year-old who keeps paging through My First Elements or ABC Elements, by all means graduate them to The Kids book of The Elements. The pictures in all my books mean that kids of all ages can enjoy them, and if they’re too young to read the text or understand all the words, well, that’s what you’re for. Read it with them. You will enjoy it too, I promise.

Check out this cool video that shows off the new Kid’s book!