Science books are always a big hit around here. During our normal read aloud time each day, it’s guaranteed that at least one of them will be science-based. Given that I am reading to two first graders, a preschooler, and an 18-month-old, our choice in science books is typically picture books.

Nomad Press has some great ones to offer. We received the Physical Science for Kids Set for review. The set includes four books: Forces, Waves, Matter, and Energy. All four softcover books are 28 pages long with a one-page glossary at the end of the book. They’re all fully illustrated and just plain fun to read and look at.

Each of the books gives sound scientific concepts in easy to read and understandable terms. They’re relatable, funny, and get the kids thinking. The books are written for children ages 5-8, but children older would enjoy them too.

Forces addresses gravity, magnetism, push/pull forces, and friction. Those might seem like big concepts, but when you read the book, even my preschooler can explain why she falls down sometimes- gravity!

“There are forces that make us stick to Earth. There are forces that make your soccer ball fly into a goal. There are forces that make your soccer ball roll to a stop before it even gets to the goal!”

See? Relatable, story-like information that really gets the kids thinking. Several times after reading Forces the kids pointed out different types of force that happened in everyday life.

I was surprised by Waves. It begins by explaining the different types of waves. People waving, waves in an ocean, fans in a stadium, and then it moves to energy.

“Energy is an invisible force that travels as a wave. When you see waves in water, it’s the energy that’s moving toward the shore, not the water”

It goes on to explain that the waves are actually moving up and down, like a ball bouncing in water or a balloon bobbing in the air. Light waves, heat waves, and sound waves are also explored.

Matter begins with the basic explanation that “matter is anything that takes up space and can be weighed.” As soon as I read that part in the book, I remembered being told the exact same line in middle school. After looking at different examples of matter, it goes on to explain that matter can have many different shapes, colors, and sizes.

I have only ever heard that there are three forms of matter- liquid, gas, solid. Apparently, there is a fourth form! Plasma! And did you know lightning is plasma?? Yeah, me neither.

Once we got through that surprising bit of information, we learned that there are some things not made of matter. Can you think of any? We couldn’t either. And I’m not going to tell you. The book gives three (surprisingly obvious) answers. You’ll have to look it up and find out.

The last book in our set, Energy, talked about how people get energy (food and rest) and how plants get energy (sun and water). Electrical energy, light energy, and heat energy are also explored in a kid-friendly manner. This one was probably our favorite, or at least, it was the one they most requested to read.

The Physical Science for Kids Set has been a wonderful addition to our home library. The books are simple enough for everyone to understand yet contain enough scientific truth to be considered a science resource.  They are written in a way that makes them great read alouds, and simple enough that my 7-year-old can confidently read them.

Each of the books can be purchased on the Nomad Press website for $9.95.

-Product review by Jeniffer Do Nascimento, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May, 2018