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Chemistry-related Children/YA fiction/nonfiction? Any Ideas..please help!

VTChEwbecca

VTChEwbecca

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Hello All,

I am currently in graduate school to get my teacher's certification and a master's degree in secondary education. I am enrolled in a reading class, which is designed to broaden our reading selections.

I am an avid reader, but I'm hoping that some of you can help me find books that would be related to chemistry for children and young adults. Any genre, lenth, format, as long as its geared for children and young adults and features content related to chemistry in some form. Would any of you happen to have any suggestions for good literature that dabbles in chemistry and is for children and young adults? If you know of any, please let me know. It would be a great help, as I feel a bit stuck out in the ocean with no life preserver.

Thanks in advance for any help!
-Chewie
 
That is a hard one. I'll think on it.

BTW, WELCOME BACK!

What about the Artemis Fowl books? Does he do any nifty things with chemistry? He seems scientifically minded.
 
He didn't in the first one, if I remember correctly, but perhaps in the later ones...anyone know?

Thanks for the welcome back & the help :)
 
Oliver Sacks, a great, fluid writer, wrote a memoir last years called Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, about growing up among chemists and scientists and doing all sorts of early experiments.

Similarly the memoirs of Richard Feynmann are great, especially Surely You Must Be Joking Mr. Feynmann. (He's the guy who put the O-ring from the Challenger in a class of icewater at the Congressional hearings on the disaster. He also worked on the Manhattan Project and other nuclear projects at Los Alamos.)

My son read Feynmann when he was 11-12 and LOVES him still. Very funny writer and great at getting kids interested in physics and chemistry.

Novella
 
A couple non-fiction titles are:
The visual dictionary of chemistry by Jack Challoner and
Kitchen science by Peter Pentland and Pennie Stoyles.
You can also find many more titles regarding chemistry on this site:
http://www.homeschooleducation.org/childrens_educational_books/chemistry/chemistry_books.htm

As for fiction, a character that comes to mind is Mrs. Murry from A Wrinkle In Time (and other books) by Madeleine L’engle. Although she has a secondary role, she has degrees in biology and bacteriology and conducts chemistry experiments.
I’ll try to find some other fiction titles.
 
Dear Chewie,

I not so humbly recommend my book "TechnoMatter: The Materials Behind the Marvels," which won the 2002 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award for works intended for young readers. It also was named best grade 7-12 science book by the Society of School Librarians International and was selected to two important lists: The New York Public Library "Books for the Teen Age" and the Los Angeles Public Schools "LA 100."

You can read about it at my website http://www.fredbortz.com (direct page link http://www.fredbortz.com/TechnoMatter.htm).

Scientifically yours,
"Dr. Fred" Bortz
 
Found some children and YA Fiction titles...I have not read any of these so I'm not sure if they are good literature or not.

The Chemy Called Al by Wendy Isdell
When her reading light goes out, Julie places her chemistry book under her head, passes through a mysterious portal, and finds herself in the land of Science. YA

The Hateful Plateful Trick by Scott Corbett
As a result of an experiment with a chemistry set, three children smell very strongly of the food each detests the most--sauerkraut, corned beef and cabbage, and tomato soup--while the dog smells of apple pie.

The Lemonade Trick by Scott Corbett
When a mysterious old lady gave Kerby the magic chemistry set, strange things began to happen.

The Poison Factory by John Branfield
Helen tries to find answers to the death of her father, who was involved in chemical warfare research. Grades 5-8.

Everything Happens to Stuey by Lilian Moore
A boy's chemistry set and his great ideas are always getting him into trouble with his family and friends. Grades 3-4.

(George) by E.L. Konigsburg
Benjamin Dickinson Carr, sixth grader, excels in science, scores a sky-high I.Q. and discovers he has an inner self named George. Ben ignores warnings from the "little person" inside until the truth is out. Ages 9-12

Bad Chemistry by Franklin W. Dixon.
Joe's new chemistry teacher, Yvonne, is the number one suspect in a murder. Yvonne claims she was set up, but the Hardys are doing some explosive research of their own.

The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones
When a disagreeable man with two boys marries a widow with three children, family adjustments are complicated by two magic chemistry sets which cause strange things to happen around the house.
 
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