Review by Booklist Review
He may not be an actual scientist, but Britain's YouTube vlogging sensation Charlie McDonnell knows how to communicate science. He's gathered subjects covered on his YouTube show, Charlieissocoollike, into this print volume. Starting large, with the big bang theory and the universe, Charlie describes scientific concepts in a manner that's both easily digestible and entertaining (So, next time you do a thumbs up, think about the fact that it's taking a whopping 27 different bones to make that happen). His conversational tone, filled with jokes, puns, and unusual facts along with colorful backgrounds and comic drawings keeps readers' attention as the topics grow increasingly smaller, from the solar system, Earth, and the beginning of life and evolution to the human body, the brain, cells, elements, and particles. But don't let the humor or the author's young age (26) fool you. Each chapter makes an outstanding alternative to encyclopedia articles or textbook passages as it provides detailed descriptions and takes scientific studies and controversial theories and experiments, such as climate change and cloning, into account. Fun, indeed.--Leeper, Angela Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up-Young British YouTuber McDonnell has moved into the world of publishing, tackling astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics in a conversational style. Cartoonlike illustrations accompany most pages, anthropomorphizing, for example, different types of dwarf and supergiant stars with mustaches, sunglasses, grins, and grimaces. McDonnell inserts his own thoughts and asides into the text and keeps it light with hashtags such as #notallbacteria (in reference to "good" vs. harmful bacteria). Yet the humorous tone in no way takes away from the science as major and complex topics (string theory) are well covered. Clearly, McDonnell knows his stuff, and much of the content is quite comprehensive. However, the back matter is rather limited. As the author states in the introduction, he's not a scientist but a scientific communicator, mentioning a great scientific communicator of the 20th century, Carl Sagan. VERDICT McDonnell may not be Sagan, but for 21st-century teens, this is a solid and entertaining read.-Jenny Berggren, Longfellow Middle School, Berkeley, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
