Everyday Science: Fun and Easy Projects for Making Practical Things Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995 96pp, paper, $12.95 ISBN 0-471-11014-0 Subject Headings: Science-Experiments-Juvenile literature. Scientific recreations-Juvenile literature. Grades 3 - 7 / Ages 8 - 12. Review by Joan Payzant

excerpt:

"Look around you. Science is everywhere. When you turn on a light, watch television, or answer a phone, you are influenced by science. Everyday things that we take for granted would have seemed like magic to people fifty years ago. Fax machines, laptop computers, and cellular phones are some recent science inventions. Can you imagine how scientific inventions will affect our lives fifty years from now? Will people have silicon chips placed in their bodies to provide medical information to doctors? Will we travel through phone lines instead of using cars or planes? Will you read a book like this one on a computer in your own home?"

Children, parents and teachers will be enthralled with Everyday Science. Although the authors state that "you should have everything you need to perform the experiments right in your own kitchen," I venture to say that not many homes have iron filings, light emitting diodes, wires with alligator clips on each end, and washing soda all readily at hand. But these items are relatively inexpensive and most parents would willingly provide them to advance the cause of their children's interest in science, not to mention the pure entertainment value of the experiments.