I just had a science project to do, so I liked insects, then I looked at this book, and it told many projects I could do with insects! The teacher was very impressed that I did three projects for the science fair. Everyone liked my project, except for Emily, who is scared of insects all the time! This is an excellent book for projects (and extra credit)!

But it's good for 5 to 10-year olds. It appeals to the hands-on kid, but doesn't speak down to them at all. Explains the concepts (fractions, averages, volume, graphs, measurements, etc.) clearly and quickly, then gives exercises and fun things for the kid to try. Mostly needs parent to be helping, though most are simple. We loved making a color spinner and folding paper (doubling). We charted doubling to show her what a parabola looked like. It has plenty of clear effective line sketches to illustrate. I found this at the library and decided to buy it.

Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, the author of this plant book. It is my goal to provide educators and kids fun, safe, workable experiments. THE END

A great teaching tool. This informative and well illustrated book is a great homeschool tool. We homeschool 4 children ages 5 to 12 and this book is adaptable to all levels of learning. Exercises and activities will keep your kids wanting to move to the next chapter. Each of the major systems of the human body are presented in a clear and understandable way. Janice VanCleave takes you and your child from human cell division all the way to reproduction.(no explicit graphics used). We particularly enjoyed the chapters on the human brain where there are many hands on activities to give the kids a better understanding of how the brain works. If you have kids and your trying to teach them something about human anatomy, THIS IS THE BOOK TO GET.

I bought both of Van Cleave's "Best Science Fair Projects" books for my middle school child and was not impressed, in fact, I returned the first "Best Science Fair Projects" book as it was simply a waste of time and money. Readers should be advised that the majority of Van Cleave's projects are for very young children in early grammar school years, they are not for children who are planning for science fairs at the middle school or high school level, at least not on a competitive level. Many of Ms. Van Cleave's projects are demonstrations of certain basic science principles and that may be interesting for parents to try at home with their children in their spare time, but how does a child convert any of these into real projects that are supposed to ask a question, investigate the question, and proceed with an experiment to prove or disprove what the child is investigating. I cannot see where a book that contains projects such as "Can You Make a Diagram of an Insects Body" and where the materials required are cutting out the Head, Thorax and Abdomen out of construction paper to make a model insect, I cannot see where this is a project worthy to be called a "best science fair project," much less receive the praise that the other reviewers have given.

...This book is very thorough. It tells you how science fair projects should be presented. It had sample science fair projects. It gave outlines on abstracts, reports, etc.

My only problem with this book was that it was too complex for my daughter to understand on her own. I like my daughter to work on all her projects independently with only minimal guidance from me. There were concepts in this book that were difficult for her to understand, and I had to guide her through some of the ideas and explanations.

On a brighter side, she got an A on her project, and her teacher chose her project to display in the classroom as one of the teacher's favorite projects.

I think this book is great for science project ideas. I used an idea from this book for the 2001 science fair at MacArthur Middle, and I won first prize! My little brother who goes to Maryland City Elementary used a project and he, too, won first prize! I think that this book should be a must in every library and home. Thank-you Janice Vancleave!

I found this book to be incredibly helpful and it helped me to finish a much needed science project. I enjoyed these fun ideas and learned a lot.

Janice Vancleave's A+ Projects in Chemistry: Winning Experiments for Science Fairs and Extra Credit is a book that I would recommend to anyone who is having trouble thinking of a science fair project or doesn't know how to go about their experimentation. The book gives a list of what types of projects one might be interested in, which narrows choices down considerably. Janice Vancleave made finding a science project easier by naming and describing specific projects instead of just topics. When explaining a project she gives the materials list, the exact procedure, and the results that one should have. Not only does she include the basic information specifically needed for the project, but she also includes helpful hints on being successful in the display of the project and tells the reasons for the results to end up as they did.

This book has been a tremendous help to me. I think that it can help others do fantastic science projects as well. It was easy to find what I was looking for, and when I found it, it was even easier to understand without scientific phraseology that tends be confusing.

I reviewed this book in The Home School Manual ================

Projects and activities to teach concepts, terminology, and (according to the author, Janice VanCleave) laboratory methods. This book and the others in the series each describe 101 experiments. For biology they are classified under plants, animals, and humans. Each is presented in a two-page spread with an illustration on the right. The order is logical. By working through the book doing some experiments and reading about the others, one would form significant concepts. An explanation is given for each activity. Growing carrots from carrot tops demonstrates that a plant can grow if it has portions of base, stem, and root, and if it receives food and water.

The explanations are oversimplified in some cases (for "finger monocle" for example). Younger students need simpler explanations, but I believe the scientific principles could be stated more accurately. Also, some of the illustrations could be improved, but basically the book is good.

For a total science program I would recommend a textbook or a number of broad topic books. Individual experiments miss some of the overall themes and some concepts are hard to demonstrate.

I have not seen evolutionary concepts in the book. It and others in the series seem best for about grades 3 through 5. Younger kids could profit from most of the activities. The explanations don't bring out the scientific principles clearly enough for older ones.

Part of a series from John Wiley & Sons.

This is a wonderful resource book useful for making science come alive in your classroom. It is ideal for the urban schools that have little access to nature around their school. The experiements require very little preparation and all are student centered. All experiements are written on one page. (Time saver for the busy teacher) Experiements are divided by science subject and the experiements are centered mostly on an elementary/Jr High level. Clear and concise explanations of the scientific principles behind the experiments make this book outstanding.

This book is a good introduction to the human body for very young children. I attempted to interest my children in the book (6 and 9 years old), but ready answers to the books questions came from their own personal knowledge not the book. They were not interested in the "Let's find out!" portion and came up with their own experiments to investigate the questions.

I suppose that a child with little natural curiosity would find this book interesting. But if you are trying to introduce new concepts to your children there are better bets.

The experiements in this book are simple, yet answer the question wonderfully. My children (4,6,7) all enjoyed the activities, which lasted just long enough for their short attention span. Best suited for young children (5 yrs old), I would recommend this to any Parent of a preschool child.

I checked this book out at my library and loved it so much I plan to purchase one. I home school my preschooler. This book was perfect. My child enjoyed the experiments. It's nice to have educational books like this geared directly at the younger child. I spend a great deal of time researching the internet and the library to find good science activities for us. This and the remaining books in the series will definatly be added to our home library and should save me some time.

This book is almost entirely about finding specific constellations in the sky. If that's what you want, then it's for you. It is not about constellations in general, nor does it have star stories. It only has a few "activities." I bought it to use in my classroom, but haven't touched it. I have to wonder why I bought it, because I have the same opinion of Janice VanCleave's books....they look good, but there isn't all that much substance. I just had a weak moment! This one is worse than usual.

Janice VanCleave's "Constellations For Every Kid" is one of the books I used to teach an astronomy unit to the boys I help homeschool. It is quite limited in its scope -- containing only the northern constellations and no complete star maps -- but is very useful for basic constellation identification. I used it mostly as a source of seasonal star maps for the boys to copy. It also helpfully identifies some key stars in various constellations, and provides tips for finding various constellations once the positions of others are known.

However, this is about all the book is good for. The explanations of various phenomena are extremely limited, VanCleave provides none of the legends behind the constellations, and her suggested questions and activities are often impractical or pointless. (She also turned Saggitarius into some unholy thing she dubbed 'The Teapot.' Sheesh.) The book wavers between being a teacher's handbook and a student's textbook -- and fills neither purpose very well.

In other words, don't buy it. Skim through it and take any useful activities and explanations, but don't be too disappointed if you come away with only a few ideas.

My 7 year old daughter and I have had a great time with Constellations For Every Kid. Each chapter provides a "bite size" chunk of information, a stargazing opportunity, questions to reinforce what was taught, and an astronomy-related activity. Other strong points include simple but quality illustrations and helpful pronunciation guides. The book covers topics like the general motion of the sky, precession, ecliptic, variable stars, spectral types, folklore, as well as the names of the stars and consteallations clearly, with enough depth to be interesting but not so much detail as to be overwhelming. In short, My daughter may not remember all the specifics but she's getting the basic ideas and we're having fun in the process.