*CONFESSION* I loved chemistry in high school so much that I began college majoring as a chemical engineer. I got over that by the end of my first semester once I was shown the amount of studying required to be successful in that program, so that part of my brain took a back seat while I turned to studying modern languages. Reading MAGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PERIODIC TABLE...DRAGONS made my science-y self sit up, and that latent part of my brain popped right back to attention.

Sure, there are whimsy little dragons with cute little names and tails that do magical things. But the book is also loaded with scientific facts, fun facts, and of course, the elements of the periodic table and their symbols, atomic number, atomic mass, etc. To me, reading MAGICAL ELEMENTS felt very much like reading one of the beloved DK books where every page is packed with information and images and white space is minimal. That format encourages readers to return again and again. Brilliant tactic because each visit reinforces learning -- and likely reveals a new unnoticed tidbit of information.

I love that there are so many supplemental resources to enjoy in conjunction with the books (there's a unicorn version of this, too), so that the youngest readers are comfortable with science and how our world works well before they study it in school.

Other than a few typos (not surprising how much text there is), MAGICAL ELEMENTS is an absolutely perfect book to hand to your kids, including the older ones. No one is ever too old for a children's picture book, after all.

This is super cute AND could be infinitely helpful. If someone had given me a book that incorporated dragons with learning the periodic table of elements I might have done a lot better in science classes!!

Highly recommend this for anyone really. Even a high schooler trying to learn the table might find some acronyms, comparisons, etc here that help them remember what is where. Regardless of how you memorize things like common calculations, table elements, multiplication/division, conversion factors, etc. it can help you be quicker with answers and a better problem solver to know this information on a quick recall.

As someone who still can’t do 6x7 quickly (I have trouble memorizing number combinations ) I would encourage an device (like this super cute book) that helps kids not only learn but remember what they have learnt!

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by the Elemental Dragons by Sybrina Durant with illustrations by Pranavva et al. takes a unique approach that combines fantasy and science to help tweens, teens, and others to learn about the Periodic Table of Elements.

Each page features brightly colored instructional illustrations—including a dragon with an element-tipped tail— and interesting facts about its element. The element’s details are broken out into sections such as Facts, Atomic Structure, Uses, and Did You Know.

I did learn about the elements as I read through the pages. I definitely would have loved a resource such as this when I went through chemistry class. It helps make learning fun!

There is another book in this series featuring unicorns (Book 1).

Published by Sybrina Publishing

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An exciting way to learn! This is a great way to get kids interested in science. This book contains all sorts of information on the elements, from their properties, to their history, to their uses. Hugely informational, but presented with whimsy.

I also really enjoyed the aesthetic presentation. The design is very visual, making the location of desired facts straightforward, i.e. you don't have to wade through a bunch of extra text to find what you're looking for.

This is a great learning resource. A valuable addition to any learning library.

In 'Magical Elements of the Periodic Table: Presented Alphabetically', the Elemental Dragons present children with twenty-three pure elements of the Periodic Table in a very unique ways. Adding one isotope-Deuterium, one compound-Quichline, and one alloy-White Gold alphabetically. The Elemental Dragons each possess a magical tail with elemental powers at its tip. From Antimony to Zirconium, the elements are listed alphabetically. They follow the theme of "No Metal - No Magic...and No Technology" It's Techo- Magical." As part of the Magical Elements of the Periodic Table series, this is the second book.

Book One is entitled 'Magical Elements of The Periodic Table: Presented Alphabetically' by The Metal Horn Unicorns. We met these unicorns from Unimaise who are techno-magical. The theme is "No Metal, No Magic...and No Technology." Beginning with Aluminum, this elemental alphabet book ends with Zinc. Downloadable unicorn-themed periodic tables, trading cards representing the 26 unicorns and their elements, fun lesson cards, and more are available.

Each element has the following information on the elemental fact sheet:

Name such as (Antz Presents Antimony)

Symbol

Atomic Number

Atomic Mass

Antimony Facts

A picture of how Antimony naturally occurs and a brief description

A drawing of Antz the Dragon along with a close-up of the Antimony tipped tail

Antz's Magical Abilities

Atomic Structure

Antimony's Chemical Make-up

Uses for Antimony

Did You Know? section

Each element is accompanied by colorful illustrations.

At the end of the book, there is a great deal of information. Take advantage of the wealth of information provided.

The book ends with Periodic Tables. The Periodic Table is also broken down by element with the following characteristics:

Atomic Number

Element Symbol

Elemental Dragon

Everyday use for the element

Element Name

Atomic Structure

Group

Period

Family

The next section discusses types of elements on the Periodic Table with definitions.

All elements on the Periodic Table are listed alphabetically. The elements listed in red are those featured in the book.

A section is devoted to definitions.

Song lyrics for "No Metal, No Magic"

Get printable activity downloads

I definitely recommend purchasing this book. This is a great way to help students who are unfamiliar with the periodic table or are having difficulty learning the elements. It's worth a look.

The book is an interesting approach to engaging children in science and is accessible with one page for every element. However in order to engage children it needs to have more inter-connections- possibly a Top Trumps style approach to the relative qualities of each element and how they compare.
in terms of illustrations the characters are well drawn and the images bring the 'uses' section to life. Furthermore, the 'magical abilities' section for the dragons seems enticing for children to include a degree of make believe with the characters leading their journey through the elements.
The 'Do You Know' section is likely to appeal to children and perhaps this could be drawn on later in the book with quizzes such as 'true or false' or 'what dragon are you' which would engage the readers more in repeat reading and in turn lead to this becoming something that they would talk about and share with others.
Overall it is great to bring science to children with a different approach and if this were to prove popular there could be other avenues for exploitation in different media including podcasts, YouTube and TV

As a high school Chemistry teacher, I found this book charming and may well use it next year in my classes. The elements are well laid out, with the one-pagers for each of the alphabetical elements/compounds aesthetically pleasing to the eye. However, I do think that for some of the elements, it is a bit forced but, admittedly, it is challenging to come up with things for V, X and Z. I think what is most useful are the things at the end: the illustrated two page periodic table that is color coded, the Structure of Elements, Alloys, Compounds and Definitions. I think that students, even high school students, would get something out of those pages, especially reluctant readers. The alphabetical list of elements is the least useful part. It will capture the attention of younger folk who are likely not to be taking chemistry and reluctant readers in high school. But if they just look at that without the rest of it, there are still terms that would be hard to understand. I can give this 3 points for this and would definitely look at other things written by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this text.

The purpose of this book really escaped me. Is it a book to teach children about the periodic table using dragons and pictures? Is it intended for an older audience? In both cases, I think it falls short. The illustration, which I thought would save it, looks like it was done on a computer and is not all that polished or interesting. And the text, while interesting, seems to be directed to an older reader who really would not necessarily appreciate the childlike drawings and the dragon linkages. I had thought maybe the dragons would help with memory, but they really aren't linked to the elements in a way that would help with that.

I did appreciate the facts and information provided for each of the elements covered. And I think that a middle schooler could use this as a reference for doing a project on a particular element or something similar. I am just not convinced that they would naturally pick this up to do that, because they would possibly think it was fiction or a fairy tale.

All in all, I think that this is a book that I would maybe pick up in a bookstore and then put back, and that's a shame because there is some good content embedded in it.

I appreciate the attempt to appeal to middle grade children, but this falls a little short of the mark. It’s hard to know what age will like this because the A-Z alphabet format hints at younger children, but then the contents are a giant info dump for older kids. I have issues with the sheer amount of text squeezed into every page; as someone with a graphic design degree, the layout evokes confusion and overload. Each entry should be condensed into absolute need-to-know information.

I’m giving this a 3 for the super cute dragon illustrations. I think there’s potential here for a helpful book, but it needs some more work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sybrina Durant for the eARC. All opinions are mine.

This is a twee book designed to engage a particular cohort of middle grade students. Unfortunately, it is not effective as a text for classrooms. This is not a book I would adopt in my role leading curriculum as it does not present the information that students in this cohort most need to know. To be effective this book must consider what information students need to understand at the middle-grade level and make that clear and evident across the text. All other information is ancillary and should be included, but not at the expense of the most relevant to student information.

This book is beautifully designed and illustrated, and it is full of interesting facts, but I am a little confused as to who the target audience is. It's a bit too wordy for early elementary, and the tone seems a bit off for mid grade. There are also allusions to a larger world already created?
I did some research on the author's webpage, which unfortunately is not optimized for mobile, and is just generally a bit disorganized. So I can't tell if this is meant to be a companion novel or to stand alone. (Unfortunately, it doesn't.)

Still, the illustrations are just lovely and I was enchanted by the concept of a dragon based periodic table picture book.

This book is just … adorable. The artwork is charming, the facts are fun and well laid out as easy, bite sized bits of trivia. I love this book. Perfect for a younger audience, but just as enjoyable for older readers, as well. And it’s just not the selected elements (an alphabet’s worth) being given dragon personas; the periodic table is also explained in a very easy-to-understand format, as well as the differences between alloys and compounds. The book also comes with a glossary in the back that explains more about atoms and their bits and pieces.

There’s more planned for this series, with more elements being introduced as knights, goblins and wizards until they’re all accounted for. I honestly think this would make a perfect gift for anyone, be they budding scientist or fantasy fancier.

I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy