Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table — by Isabel Thomas and Sara Gillingham

"In this colorful compendium, Isabel Thomas takes us on a journey through (or rather, down, diagonally and across) the periodic table." 

—BBC Science Focus

"A stylish guide to the periodic table... Jolts of vivid color, sharp design and lively explanatory text will help readers ages 7-13 wrap their minds around the characteristics of the foundational chemical elements, the forms they take and the uses we make of them."

—Wall Street Journal

Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table is the ultimate reference tool for scientists worldwide. This artful and accessible guide to the periodic table names all 118 chemical elements and, at the same time, helps young readers understand. This is the perfect introduction to chemistry for the inquisitive mind in every household.

Science meets design in this New York Times 2020 Best Book of the Year selection, which includes graphically stunning layouts featuring each element's letter symbol and atomic number, exploring its attributes, characteristics, uses, and interesting stories behind its discovery. 

Wrapped in a double-sided jacket, with the illustrated periodic table printed in the underside, Exploring the Elements is jam-packed with 240 pages of information.

Complete with a comprehensive introduction explaining what elements are and the design and purpose of the periodic table, each of the 118 elements is visually presented with its respective letter symbol and atomic number, as well as a map of where it’s located in the periodic table

Additional details showing where each element is found in the universe (from food on our plates to the center of a star), its unique properties, atomic diagram, secret chemistry, and working examples of how its’s used or changing the world, in addition to an index, glossary and suggested reading, additional references and resources.

Both a gift book and a practical book, Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table is for teachers and librarians, parents and grandparents, the home bookshelf and classroom bookshelf, science enthusiasts and budding scientists of all ages.

THE DETAILS  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sara Gillingham, award-winning art director and designer, created Alpha Bravo Charlie, Boats Are Busy, Seeing Stars and Animals in the Sky with Phaidon. She lives in British Columbia.

Isabel Thomas is the author of more than 150 books about science and nature for young audiences. Her critically-acclaimed picture book Moth: An Evolution Story, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus, was awarded the 2020 AAAS Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

Isabel also writes monthly features for children’s science magazines The Week Junior Science+Nature and Whizz Pop Bang, and creates content for outreach projects, including the Wellcome Trust’s Explorify.