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Monday, November 17, 2014

Read: JJ's Science Adventure: Magnets (Review and Giveaway)


Junior J loves science, and loves reading about various science topics. So he was most interested when he spotted this copy of "JJ's Science Adventure: Magnets". In fact, he found the book amidst my pile of letters on the table and helped himself to it, and even asked me when I would read it to him.

JJ's Science Adventure is a series of educational comic books authored by Aurelia Tan, and educator, and published by Harvest Edutainment. The books are designed to help readers to master learning objectives in the Primary School Science syllabus, by engaging readers in stories that introduce various scientific concepts.


In the title on Magnets, we follow two children, Joyce and Jonathon, as they journey into the world of Magnets via a teleportation portal. As they continue on their adventure, they learn to solve the puzzles and challenges that they encounter. Readers learn more about magnets, about their physical properties (eg. how certain metals are magnetic, and about the poles of the magnet), and their various applications (eg. maglev trains and electromagnets).



I was rather impressed by how Aurelia managed to weave most of the learning points for the topic into an adventure story. The puzzles encountered by the two children are interesting (for example, having to cross a gap using magnetic gloves with polarity). Incorporating all these puzzles into a cohesive story made learning so much more relevant and exciting, compared to if the concepts were presented in the usual textbook format. There are bite-sized chunks of information introduced along the course of the story, with more information on the various applications of magnets at the back of the book. 


Junior J enjoyed the book very much, and I would say the series would definitely engage children, especially with those animated illustrations typical of comic books. We paired the book with various hands-on activities involving magnets: the boys got to see how like poles repelled each other, they picked up paper clips with magnets, and also got to experiment with various metal discs to see what type of metals would be picked up by a magnet. 


Of course, it must be said that using comics to teach Science has its limitations. While effectively covering the main teaching points for the topic, the book should ideally be paired with hands-on activities (as with all Science topics). Also, comic books predominantly cater to visual learners, since the text and illustrations go hand in hand in telling a story. I found that the impact of the book was lessened when I had to read it aloud to my three year old, so ideally this book would be more suitable for children who are already reading and can manage the simple text. 

All in all, the book is highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to the next title on heat and light! If you are interested, you can purchase your copy from various sources, which are listed here

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Aurelia is kindly giving away copies of "JJ's Science Adventure: Magnets" to three readers of this blog! To enter in the giveaway, follow the instructions given in the Rafflecopter widget below. Don't forget to leave your name and email address in the comments section below, so that we can contact you if you win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do hop over to the Mum Craft blog to read Diana's review on the book, as well as increase your chances of winning a copy!

Disclaimer: We received a copy of the book for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are our own.

26 comments:

  1. My daughter's classmate loaned her the Young Scientist to read and she was very "hooked" and I do hope she gets to win this as I hope it will spark her interest in Science from a young age! Thank you for this giveaway! Oh yes, she is currently 6 and will be going to Primary 1 next year! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would like to win this for my 3 children.
    Lee Ling
    khorleeling@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like to win this for my inquisitive boy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would like to win this for my 2 boys and my daughter!
    Leong Yee Ming
    leongyeeming@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Would like to win for my kids too! Thanks! ang.angelia@gmail.com

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  6. Love the idea of introducing science using comics since my 6 year old and my husband already loves comics! Great for father and son bonding.
    Kylene Lee
    Lhykyl@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Would love to win this for my 6yo son who loves science very much!

    Irene Fock
    puffish03@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, I would like to win this for my son. Cheers!

    clkee12@yahoo.com.sg

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joshua loves reading comics...am sure he's gonna love this book.

    Sherreen Goh
    reaching_for_you@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hope it will spark my boy's interest in science as he is going to P3 next year! He says he wants to be Best in Science!
    Melissa
    Wmaysan@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I wish to win it for my 7 years old princess who is very curious & love reading. Awesome companian for her this school holidays..

    Thanks for the giveaway..

    Ashmika Jain
    jainash1083@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. for my curious boys
    jingxian
    j_xian@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. All I want for Christmas is this giveaway! :) Love to have it for my children!

    Thanks
    Dawn
    mrsdawngoh@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. My both children love Science experiments! Thanks for hosting the giveaway!

    Waiwai
    mami(at)peipeihaohao(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hope to win for my nephew!

    Robert Sim
    robert_sim@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Would like to win for Isaac and Chloe for this Xmas. cmeilim@gmail.com - Thanks!!
    Carol Lim

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  17. my 7yo daughter just asked me about magnets last night! this looks totally up her alley!

    MG
    musicgal99@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is a very good way for kids to learn science, especially for my son who likes to read comics.

    ReplyDelete
  19. For my girl's best friend!
    edenie98@yahoo.com
    Cynthia Lau

    ReplyDelete
  20. for my 3 kids
    jaime chan
    chueimei@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. This would be great as my kid likes to read comics and it would be a great way to learn Science concepts!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I would like to win this for my son to get him more exposed to Science.

    Phyllis Tan
    sillyphy13@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. My girl loves to read comics and this would be great introduction to science!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhh!!! I forgot my e m a i l! walk_of_life(at)live (dot)com

      Delete
  24. I want my 8yo boy to have this! He is gonna learn Science in Pri 3 ... this will be fantastic for him! He's into comics these days too, great! :)

    Felicia
    fur_li@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete