I enjoyed this a good deal. The layout, essentially of text on illustration, is very good. One drawback was the complete lack of any math, which lead to some very poor definitions in the glossary. ( )

Even more informative, in many ways, than [a:Theodore Gray|2898508|Theodore Gray|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1332287787p2/2898508.jpg]'s [b:The Elements|8581040|The Elements|Theodore Gray|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348172111s/8581040.jpg|6873223]. But harder to read because it's more like an 'Eyewitness' book. If one truly wants to learn Chemistry, this might be a better book, because it better organizes by groups and has other kinds of information. Either would be better than the text book I had in school 3 decades ago, if only for the wonderful photos! ( )

Although this is a book that I could see many children with an interest in science pulling off of a shelf the concepts and information are more appropriate for older children. There is a lot of appeal to this book as it's heavily illustrated with vibrant photos and diagrams and has countless interesting facts riddled throughout. Sidebars have links where children can discover more and defines complex vocabulary terms. The layout, content, and glossary would make this an excellent reference and supplementary book for teachers. ( )

This book provides quality information in a colorful and organized manner. There are content pages that describe the topics included in each chapter. There are also 2 well illustrated pages that describe how to use the books features. The author describes many conceptual factors necessary to understand the following information on the elements, including the properties of matter, definition of element, and chemical reactions. The author provides more conceptual background about where elements come from and what they are composed of. Finally, the periodical table is introduced with the respective numbers and symbols included. Another table in the same form displays images of each element (if available). This added a nice touch because actually seeing the material allows for a better quality understanding of what the book discusses.
This book has chapters arranged according to the properties and arrangement of each element on the periodical table. The last chapter provides a history of the discovery of the elements and some of ways that humans manipulate them.
Many colorful photographs are provided, which I though were great. Many of them demonstrated how these elements occur in nature, while others displayed common objects we use today that are made from the elements. Images are also shown of the different forms of many elements, whether it is rock, liquid, gas, or being transformed from one state to another.
The melting point, boiling point, and a description of each element are given inside a small text box in each elements section. I found this information to be useful and easy to refer back to. The book did not get too complicated and explained a lot, including how steel, synthetic elements and various oil products are manufactured. There is also a useful glossary in the back of the book. The author did not include a bibliography, although photo credits are provided.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in chemistry. It would be useful for a middle or high school student who is interested in a conceptual chemistry background.