Now the reason I chose this book to review, aside from difficulties in obtaining some of these books from the library, is because I applaud the way the subject matter of this book is handled. There's a great balance between use of humor, without being too "fart-joke-like," blended in with some real tips about the scientific process. Being observant, using deductive reason, and having a thirst to solve mysteries and learn about our past lives, is at the foundation of this book. Once you get past the smelly content.
This balance is carried through in the use of cartoons and photography, while highlighting real scientists for kids to look up to. So, a word of caution with this book before you peruse it: either do it on an empty stomach, or not leisurely morning reading over breakfast!
The last of the books I'll be covering, from that WNYC Science Friday Broadcast of Sept. 11, 2015: "Buried Sunlight; How fossil fuels have changed the Earth," written by Molly Bang and illustrated by Penny Chisholm.
Author Ms Bang frames the changes in global warming due to human activity in a much more basic context. We are being pushed and pulled by media, by politics, and even contradicting evidence from the scientific world, to believe that perhaps it is not human activity that has caused great damage and peril to the planet. Earth has undergone cycles of warming and cooling throughout its history. Therefore, what does it matter if indeed the Earth is now slowly warming?
The fundamental difference now is that before, those warming and cooling periods took place over hundreds of THOUSANDS of years. Yet the latest measurable changes have occurred in a mere two hundred years. What has been proven in history is that these temperature changes had devastating consequences.
So, given that there is a significant change occurring NOW, and, in a blink of an eye relative to the other temperature fluctuation periods, doesn't it stand to reason that we should make greater efforts stewards for this Earth?
A straightforward, cogent take on our beloved Earth, and the choices we can make to shepherd it into the distant future.
Thanks for letting me share these books with you!