Elementary Students:
LRFO = Let’s Read and Find Out early readers
Links that are crossed out are “broken links,” however, I have found that most of them actually do work if you click on them.
- What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (LRFO 2)
- Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Jeanne Bendick (72 p.)
- What is Matter by Daniel Posin (48 p.)
- Biography of an Atom by Millicent Selsam (44 pp.)
- Air Is All Around You by Franklyn M. Branley (LRFO 2, 40 pp.)
- What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells (gr. 1-6, IP, 32 p.)
- Marie Curie by Leonard Everett Fisher (PB, gr. 3+, 32 p., *a little dry)
- Snowflakes, Sugar, and Salt: Crystals Up Close by Chu Maki (g. K-4, 24 p.)
- All About Snow and Ice by Stephen Krensky (45 pp.)
- Chemistry of a Lemon by Haris (A. H.) Stone (64 pp.)
- The Story of Chemistry by Mae & Ira Freeman (82 pp.)
- Bubble-ology (GEMS: Great Explorations in Math & Science) by Jacqueline Barber (64 p.)
- Liquid Explorations (GEMS) by Leigh Agler (67 p.)
- Discovering Density (GEMS) by Jacqueline Barber (60 p.)
- Involving Dissolving (GEMS) by Leigh Agler (72 p.)
- Crime Lab Chemistry (GEMS) by Jacqueline Barber
- Of Cabbages & Chemistry (GEMS) by Jacqueline Barber (88 p.)
- Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Kevin Beals
- The Wonder Book of Chemistry by J.H. Fabre
- Matter All Around You: Solids, Liquids & Gases by R.J. Lefkowitz (64 pp.)
MS and HS Students:
- The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin D. Wiker (gr. 5+, 165 p.)
- Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry by Bernard Jaffe – can be used as a spine text as I did with my kids doing chemistry (IP, ~g. 11)
- All About the Wonders of Chemistry by Ira M. Freeman (~g. 7, 144 p.)
- The Romance of Chemistry by Keith Gordon Irwin (~g. 8)
- The Search for the Elements by Isaac Asimov
- Atoms at Work by George Bischof
- The Periodic Kingdom by P.W. Atkins (IP, 1995, 176 p., ~g. 11, though I think it reads much easier than that)
- What is Chemistry by Peter (P.W.) Atkins (IP, 2013, 111 p.) *renamed Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
- The Boy Chemist by A. Frederick Collins (online)
- Wonders of Chemistry by A. Frederick Collins (archive.org)
- The Chemical History of the Candle by Michael Faraday
- The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
- Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution by Madison Smartt Bell
- The Noble Gases by Isaac Asimov (171 p.)
- Why Things Break: Understanding the World by the Way It Comes Apart by Mark Eberhart (272 p.)
- Stories of the Invisible: A Guided Tour of Molecules by Philip Ball (224 p., difficult writing style, in my opinion)
- Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life by John Emsley (272 p., may have an inappropriate chapter or two)
- Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color by Philip Ball (382 p.)
- Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur (390 p.)
- Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World by Nick Lane (384 p.)
- Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World by Simon Garfield (240 p.)
- The Architecture of Molecules by Linus Pauling and Roger Hayward (117 p.)
- Search for the Elements by Isaac Asimov
- Elements of Faith: Volume 1 by Richard Duncan
- Exploring the World of Chemistry by Tiner (gr. 5-8, Biblical perspective, but too textbooky)
- Chemistry Made Simple by Fred C. Hess (self study, 27 chapters, 30 exp., mixed reviews)
- The Story of Oxygen by Karen Fitzgerald (g. 5+)
- The Story of Nitrogen by Karen Fitzgerald (g. 5+, 63 p., very good)
- The Story of Iron by Karen Fitzgerald (g. 5+, 64 p.)
- The Story of Carbon by Mark Uehling (63 p.)
- The Story of Gold by Hal Hellman (63 p.)
- The Story of Hydrogen by Mark Uehling (63 p.)
- The Secret Life of Cosmetics by Vicki Cobb (g. 5+, 111 p., includes exp.)
- The Secret Life of Hardware by Vicki Cobb (g. 5+, 90 p., includes exp.)
- The Secret Life of School Supplies by Vicki Cobb (g. 5+, 82 p., includes exp.)
- The Story of Chemistry by Mae & Ira Freeman (82 p.)
- Matter and Energy: Principles of Matter and Thermodynamics (Secrets of the Universe) by Paul Fleisher (Grade Level: 6 and up) *chapters 1-3 only.
- Liquids and Gases: Principles of Fluid Mechanics (Secrets of the Universe) by Paul Fleisher (Grade Level: 6 and up)
- Molecules of Murder: Criminal Molecules and Classic Cases by John Emsley
- That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles by Joe Schwarcz (IP, 275 p.)
- The Same and Not the Same by Roald Hoffmann (IP, 294 p.) *could read individual chapters.
- The Chemy Called Al by Wendy Isdell (IP, 154 p.)
- The Joy of Chemistry by Cathy Cobb (I didn’t love this – too may innuendoes and it was too chopped up.)
- Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner
- Gases by Vicki Cobb
- True Book of Chemistry by Philip Carona
Histories/Biographies:
- Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry by Bernard Jaffe (Must be taken in smallish bites. Not an easy read, but a great book all the same. This is my go-to as a Chemistry spine text.)
- A Short History of Chemistry by Isaac Asimov (253 pp.)
- The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin D. Wiker (Much easier read than Crucibles, but not nearly as good. I would say this is middle school level.)
Paracelsus (first physician to use chemistry to cure disease)
- Doctor Paracelsus by Sidney Rosen (214 p.)
Robert Boyle (made discoveries regarding gas)
- Robert Boyle: Founder of Modern Chemistry by Harry Sootin *Great book!
Joseph Priestley (discovered oxygen)
- The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson (276 p.)
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (changed the science from a qualitative to a quantitative one)
- The Chemist Who Lost His Head, The Story of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier by Vivian Grey (112 p.)
- Antoine Lavoisier: Scientist and Citizen by Sarah R. Riedman (192 p.)
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (also spelled Mendeleyev, created the first table of elements)
- Mendeleyev and His Periodic Table by Robin McKown (191 p.) *Great book
Marie Curie (discovered and isolated radium)
- The Radium Woman by Eleanor Doorly (196 p.)
Oliver Sacks
- Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks (352 p.) (GREAT reviews)
Resources:
- The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray (App or Coffee table book – I got the book cheap and we love it!)
- Periodic Videos – A short video about each of the elements
- The Basic Math Approach to Concepts of Chemistry by Leo Michels (Like a math text book)
- Chemistry: A Volatile History – BBC Series. (This is not currently available, but if it does become available again, don’t miss it!)
- Chembalancer Game to learn to balancing equations (So cool.)
- Oxygen Video, just for fun. This is cute.
- Pick up a used chemistry text book to reference when learning about chemical formulas, balancing equations, relative proportions, etc.
Experiments:
- Off the Shelf Chemistry Laboratory Experiments
- Chemically Active! by Vicki Cobb
- Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb (revised edition, 224 p.)
- The Chemistry Of A Lemon by A. Harris Stone (64 p.)
- Adventures With Atoms and Molecules: Chemistry Experiments for Young People – Book I by Robert C. Mebane and Thomas R. Rybolt (g. 3-10, 82 p.)
- Adventures With Atoms and Molecules: Chemistry Experiments for Young People – Book II by Robert C. Mebane and Thomas R. Rybolt (g. 4+, 96 p.)
- Chemical Curiosities by Herbert W. Roesky (340 p.)
- Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments by Robert Thompson (This is a seriously in-depth experiment book! I would recommend seeing if you can get it from your library or inter-library loan before buying it.)
Current Events:
I encourage you to check out Biblioguides, which now offers an SMH partner guide. They provide a list of all of the books on SMH, but with added information, including (when available) images of the book’s cover, a complete description, a look inside, and links to available digital versions. Also, with advanced search capabilities, you can find books that meet your qualifications. “Biblioguides gives you the resources and tools to discover the right book for the right person at the right moment.” They offer a free trial, so do check it out.