''The Periodic Table: Elements with Style'' is a 2007 children's science book created by

Simon Basher Simon Basher is an English artist, illustrator and author based in Amsterdam. He is best known for his illustrated children's reference books, particularly the Basher Science series, which includes The Periodic Table, the world's best-selling ...

and written by Adrian Dingle. It is the second book in Basher's science series, after ''Rocks and Minerals: A Gem of a Book''. Some of the Basher Science books includes ''Physics: Why Matter Matters!'', ''Biology: Life As We Know It'', ''Astronomy: Out of this World!'', ''Rocks and Minerals: A Gem of a Book'', and ''Planet Earth: What Planet Are You On?'', each of which is 128 pages long. The book is arranged in eleven chapters plus an introduction, and includes a poster in the back of the book. Each chapter is on a different group of the

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...

(

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

, the

alkali metal The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K),The symbols Na and K for sodium and potassium are derived from their Latin names, ''natrium'' and ''kalium''; these are still the origins of the names ...

s, the alkaline earth metals, the

transition metal In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. They are the elements that can ...

s, the boron elements, the carbon elements, the nitrogen elements, the oxygen elements, the halogen elements, the noble gases, the lanthanides and actinides, and the transactinides). For every type of then known atom, Basher has created a "manga-esque" cartoon, and for many types of atoms, Dingle, a high-school chemistry teacher who also developed an award-winning chemistry website has written a couple paragraphs of facts to go with the cartoon. Dingle, who says that " ience is a serious business", wanted in writing the book "to get people engaged is to make it accessible while still presenting hard facts and knowledge," while Basher was concerned that the book's design be "sharp and focused" in order to "connect with today's visually advanced young audience."

Critical response

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' said that the book was a "lively introduction to the chart that has been the bane of many a chemistry student", and in a review in ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'', Vivienne Greig called ''The Periodic Table'' "an engrossing read and an ideal way to painlessly impart a great deal of science history to seen-it-all-before teenagers."Greig, Vivienne
"The Periodic Table: Elements with style"
''

'' (14 April 2007) A review on the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

website had some minor reservations about the book, but said it was "endearing" and succeeded in making learning chemistry easier and more fun. ''The Periodic Table: Elements with Style'' has also been reviewed in the ''Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'' and the ''Journal of Chemical Education''.

References

External links

Simon Basher's website

Adrian Dingle's award-winning chemistry website

Kingfisher
- publisher's website
The Periodic Table
- publisher's book page
Basher books website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Periodic Table (Basher book), The Periodic table in popular culture 2007 non-fiction books Chemistry books 2007 children's books Children's books about science Children's non-fiction books