Bill Nye the Science Guy's Consider the Following

Bill Nye is great. I got this book a few years ago in college and enjoyed it no end. It's kind of an extended take on the old "Consider The Following" segment on his PBS show, if anyone remembers that bit he'd do on there. In this book he goes one step further and answers some previously imponderable questions (my favorites dealt with astronomy and physics) and does it with that good natured "I'm a nerd but I'm a cool nerd" wit that gave him so much charm. This book walks a fine line in being nominally intended for 8th-12th graders, but it has enough going on to interest those of us who left our classroom and locker mirror days behind us in the last century. Since he wrote this about 5-6 years back, I understand Bill has reinvented himself and sort of let his show grow up along with those like myself who used to watch him back in middle school. With a little luck and some good moves, Bill could go a long way toward becoming science's ambassador to the masses. We really haven't had anyone in that job since the passing of Carl Sagan. You should go for it, Bill. You rule.

Being an ardent fan of the TV series, " Bill Nye the Science Guy", I was delighted to discover this book. It covers many, but not all, the topics dealt with in the TV series. Each chapter begins by first posing a thought provoking question, which is then followed by an easily understood explanation of the topic, and lots of easy-to-do experiments. Bill Nye and Ian Saunders, the contributing author, understand their reading audience, and the language used, and the explanations given are appropriate to the age-level (and also to the more mature young-at-heart reader!). They give the phonetic pronunciation of new, potentially difficult Scientific words, so that the words become fun to say, rather than being a hurdle. In its soft cover, the book has the feel of a magazine, and is packed full of useful information for anyone wishing to augment their viewing fo the Educational videos. However, it is not necessary to have seen the videos to enjoy the book. As a teacher, I have found it useful to have all the experiments written out, using common household items found in the my kitchen. At the back of the book, there is a good index, glossary, and page of interesting facts about weights and measures. The tone of the book is one you would expect from Bill Nye - fun but full of good stuff. The only criticism that I have is that the illustrations are a bit disappointing. They are clear, but as my twelve year old son said, "A bit arb!", which in plain English means that they are arbitary (mediocre). I would also liked to have seen a chapter at the beginning of the book devoted wholly to the explanation of electrons, molecules and atoms. Although these are covered from time to time in subsequent chapters, it would have been good to have seen them consolidated into a chapter of their own. I am glad I have the book, I enjoyed reading it, and I will find it a useful resource in my teaching.

Being an ardent fan of the TV series, "Bill Nye the Science Guy", I was delighted to buy the book "Consider the Following". It covers many, but not all, the topics dealt with in the TV series. Each chapter begins by first posing a thought provoking question, which is then followed by an easily understood explanation of the topic, and lots of easy-to-do experiments. Bill Nye and Ian Saunders, the contributing author, understand their reading audience, and the language used and explanations given are appropriate to the age-level (also to the young at heart!). They give the phonetic pronunciation of new, potentially difficult, Scientific words, so that the words become fun to say, instead of being a hurdle. In its soft cover, the book has the feel of a magazine, and is packed full of useful information for anyone wishing to augment their viewing of his Educational videos, although it is not necessary to have seen the Videos to benefit from reading this book. As a teacher, I have found it useful to have all the experiments written out, using common items found in the kitchen of my home. There is a good index and glossary at the back of the book. The tone of the book is one you would expect from Bill Nye - fun, but full of good teaching. The only criticism that I have is that the illustrations are a bit disappointing. They are clear, but mediocre. I would also liked to have seen a chapter at the beginning of the book, devoted wholly to the explaination of electrons, molecules, and atoms, as although these terms are mentioned (and explained) several times in subsequent chapters, it would have been good to see them consolidated into a chapter of their own. I am glad I have the book, and I enjoyed reading it. I will find it a useful resource tool in planning my future Primary Science Lessons, in Physics, Chemistry, Life and Earth Science.