The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry

CITATION: Gonick, L. & Criddle, C. (2005). The cartoon guide to chemistry. New York: HarperCollins. Reviewer: Dr W. P. Palmer Can students learn chemistry through cartoons? The answer may well be ‘only with extreme difficulty’. Nonetheless, this cartoon guide could be extremely helpful promoting student learning in some areas of chemistry. The way in which students learn chemistry is very much dependent on the student’s learning style and some students will reject the concept of a cartoon guide to chemistry out of hand. However, this book could prove to be a valuable resource for most Year 11/12 students studying chemistry, though there are difficulties. Interestingly it starts with some of chemistry’s history where there are some minor errors by the authors. It was Cavendish, rather than Priestley (p. 9), who first prepared and named hydrogen and also Cavendish who discovered that hydrogen burnt to form water. Robert Boyle had prepared hydrogen much earlier, but had not identified its properties. Reflecting on the early part of the text, it is easy to see how the cartoonist’s desire to use humour to help students remember and understand chemistry could equally be responsible for student chemical misconceptions. ‘Chemical bonding’ is likened to human love and affection, for example, ‘No wonder the subject is so sexy! (p. 46). This anthropomorphism can prove to be a source of further student misconceptions. There are a variety of less well known chemical reactions chosen by the authors as examples such as living on a desert island using its natural resources in a self-sufficient manner; this was extremely innovative and showed possible practical applications of chemistry. In the areas of physical and general chemistry, the authors do a good job of providing examples of typical calculations with which students need to be familiar. Areas of descriptive chemistry in inorganic and organic chemistry are difficult as students may often be required recall the practical details of experiments that they have carried out, whereas cartoon guides need to cut descriptions to a minimum number of words. Similarly industrial chemistry may prove difficult if details of industrial processes are required. Overall, The cartoon guide to chemistry covers more than most Year 12 curricula and could find a place in some university courses. There will be teachers who dislike the approaches to some topics or find definitions incomplete, but the appeal that a cartoon approach makes to some students should override these concerns. This book really covers much general and physical chemistry well, so can be recommended as an alternative approach. BILL PALMER

Make no mistake, The Cartoon Guide To Chemistry gives you a full introductory (and then some) science textbook lesson in the danger, fun, and wonder of chemistry, but all without the aridly pedantic, tedious wording. There are a few moments where Gonick and Criddle get a little too cutesy with the humor, but the book is never overwhelmed by them. There are also those times when the math gets complex (as it has to), but fear not! Gonick also has wonderful books on Algebra, Calculus, and Physics! I've been reading Larry since the 1980s and his brilliant History of the Universe series. As a thoroughly enjoyable reference and reminder for adults, or a quick and helpful book for young people entering college, Larry Gonick is our Dr. Suess for Grown-ups.

....instead of watching mindless video entertainment, sit up with our children and take turns reading. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. This would not be a waste. It is a gift you can give to your children that will last for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, they will probably be left only with mindless entertainment leading away from reality rather than toward insight into the fundamental nature of reality. Consider that a great many of our elected officials seem to have the opposite view. That is why so many for so long could not and still cannot comprehend the physical issues challenging the survival of not only our country (in this case, the United States) but of our species. This book will work well for the task at hand. This material should be accessible to a middle school student. Don't wait for the schools to educate your child. For all you know some of the instructors are sitting up at night watching mindless commercial television and other fare, not increasing their knowledge and insight. As a parent you have no control of the quality of education your child will receive in that regard. Education begins at home. If you do not have a background in the subject at issue, then you can learn along with your child. If you like it, you can learn more elsewhere. You should be sure that the student has already got arithmetic and basic algebra. (See "Painless Algebra" by Lynette B. Long.) Please consider this: In 2014 the U.S. Congress invited a man who demands to be called His Holiness, the Dalai Lama (the former dictator of Tibet until China, Inc. took control) to lead the Congress in prayer which he started with, "Pray to the Buddha and all other gods..." I suppose that some readers may believe that by doing so our Congress and the electorate will resolve or avoid various challenges, like global warming, nuclear accidents, sinking aquifers, aggression from, say, China, Inc., famine, or global epidemics such as AIDS (recall the 1918 influenza epidemic). But that is not the case. Only knowledge of how the real world works leads to possible solutions to these challenges. Our political elites are not up to the task, clearly. You have to make your own judgement on these things. Your children have to live with it even after you are gone. There is no one else they can depend on to make wise and well-informed decisions. Teach them how to deal with the real world whenever possible. They may have little else to guide them.

Pleased

I used the first edition of "The Cartoon Guide to Genetics" in my college biology class in 1987, and it was a very helpful overview of the subject, if not quite as detailed as my regular textbook. The humor helped make the material easy to remember, however. I was a chemistry major, and when my teenage daughter started H.S. chemistry this year, I thought I should brush up on it myself, in case she needed help. While looking for a good intro textbook, I found this title and got it for her. I read it myself first, of course, and it was as good as the genetics book was. Mr. Gonick teams up with a professional, in this case a college professor who teaches environmental chemistry, and makes him/her the cartoon host of the story. I may have to get the updated edition of "The Cartoon Guide to Genetics" next.

My 8 year old read the whole book in three days. He really enjoyed it, especially with cartoon it become much easier to understand. He also finished the Genetic book. I bought the whole series for him

Best way to learn with fun cartoons . Great for those with learning disabilities as well it adds visual interest .

I bought it for my 12yo son, but it seems like the kind of book for people who have already had a chemistry course. It jumps around too much and talks about advanced stuff like electronegativity from the beginning. There should be a better progression from the basics. The drawing style is also messy.

Esta serie me encanta, además de que se aprende se hace de forma divertida, en mi opiniòn es recomendable tanto si se sabe sobre el tema como si no se sabe.

Bought my kids this for heading into high school - they actually read it & was a perfect primer for them to get the foundational understanding needed before taking chemistry classes... Fast forward a few years, & I re-bought it (gifted on the original book) as a refresher heading into university as they've got chem coming up & haven't taken it in a few years - both boys were excited to see it again :)

Divertente, carino, leggero, istruttivo. L'idea del fumetto è molto simpatica, scorrevole, forse a colori sarebbe più carino. Nel complesso mi piace molto!

Fun, but at times slightly confusing somehow Perhaps am I still lacking certain basic knowledge about chemistry, nevertheless interesting read

Well written... explains difficult subject in a lucid and entertaining way. Cartoons are great and goes well with the mood of the subject. Should be part of the school syllabus. Hats off to Team Gonick.