FRIEDHOFFER, ROBERT.

Light. (Illus.; from the Scientific Magic Series.) NY: Watts, 1993. 110pp. $13.40. 92-79522.ISBN 0-53111082-6. Index; C.I.P.

Molecules and Heat. 92-16960. ISBN 0-5311 1053-2.

EI - JH

**Both of these books are well suited to elementary school students as young as third grade (if used as a guide to interesting classroom activities or for advanced readers) and would be appealing and useful up through junior high school. Both are excellent in that they are not stuffy and they try to engage the student via experiments and magic tricks using common household items. Friedhoffer manages to approach difficult subjects with humor. There is a great deal of healthy irreverence contained in his discussions of most topics. Nevertheless, he pays equal attention to the scientific concepts behind the magic tricks and constantly invites students to make their own observations. His experiments are written to engage young people in the spirit of scientific inquiry, at the same time providing them with means t entertain their friends and families. He provides warnings to ask for adult supervision for experiments that require potentially hazardous materials or activities (e.g., open flames). These books would make excellent classroom supplements, with teachers picking and choosing experiments and tricks to illustrate specific concepts. At times the flow of the text is unclear, and young people attempting to read the material on their own may end up with a collection of facts without a framework to hold them. Nevertheless, these volumes are intended as activity books, and the hands-on learning of both scientific ideas and scientific methods far outweighs any theoretical shortcomings they might have. I would recommend the series highly. --  Michael J. Sarette, United Technologies, Brewerton, NY