Hot and Cold

Forces and Motion

Light and Dark

Magnets

Materials

Solids

Liquids and Gases

Sound and Hearing

Using Electricity

Water

By Angela Royston. Heinemann Library. pound;8.99 hardback, pound;5.50 paperback.

WAYS INTO SCIENCE SERIES: Floating and Sinking Magnets. Materials. By Peter Riley. Franklin Watts. pound;10.99 each.

EYE WONDER SERIES:. Space. By Simon Holland. DINOSAUR. By Sarah Walker and Samantha Gray OCEAN. By Samantha Gray. RAINFOREST. By Elinor Greenwood. Dorling Kindersley. pound;5.99 each.

WEIRD WILDLIFE SERIES. Insects. Plants. By Anna Claybourne. MAMMALS. REPTILES. By Jen Green. SEA CREATURES. By Clare Oliver. Belitha Press. pound;10.99 each.

These eye-catching series are easily up to standard for primary science, says Margaret Mallett, but on top of that they support the requirements of the literacy hour

These sparkling new science information books for the primary years cover familiar topics, but do they offer anything new? The formats and illustrations look modern and direct young readers to websites to advance their learning, but we look for the same qualities as we always did: clear writing that extends knowledge and understanding; inspiration for children to find out more. Flexibility is also important, now that information texts not only support subject learning but also provide content for the literacy hour.

Heinemann’s My World of Science series supports key stage 1 science work by helping children think about everyday objects in a scientific way.

All the main science topics for the age group are covered; concepts are clearly explained and new vocabulary introduced in context. So in Using Electricity, “circuits”, “conductors”, “insulators” and “power” are all explained with the help of simple, clearly labelled diagrams.

Angela Royston encourages children to reflect and question aspects of the world around them. The pictures of children busy with experiments add an energy to the books. Some of the features of factual texts are shown, for example headlines and captions, contents pages, glossaries and indexes and so on, which help meet some literacy hour objectives. There are a lot of books in the series and some titles are stronger than others.

Forces and Motion, Colours and Water all explain phenomena clearly. Just occasionally, in some of the books, illustrations are not demanding enough.

We find more inspiration in Watts’s Ways Into Science series, which also aims to help children develop a scientific foundation for more formal work later in the curriculum. These books show above all that basic information can be presented imaginatively.

Peter Riley has thought carefully about how to invite the young reader into each new topic. Magnets asks “Where is the best place to find magnets at home?” and answers “In the kitchen!”. Attention is then drawn to the strip magnets inside the fridge door to keep it tightly shut.

Materials starts with a picture of a child labelled to show the different materials their clothes are made from. The pages of the books are uncluttered and visually attractive - so they would be well worth displaying to support particular teaching topics in science and in the literacy hour. Children are encouraged to predict the results of simple experiments, to link cause and effect and are then shown how to set out their results in diagrammatic form. The tone of the “About this book” section is just right. It suggests how the book can be used and how to extend the concepts that it covers. The idea that from their earliest stages children are able to question and discuss the phenomena around them is reinforced.

For children at KS2, the Eye Wonder series is well organised and visually alive. Many of the illustrations are photographs which make use of the latest technology to glimpse the depths of the ocean and stare into space. A lot of people seem to be involved in producing the books - designers, art editors and picture researchers as well as authors and editors. While this ensures good quality, up-to-date information, the sense of the author’s “voice” risks being lost.

There are good glossaries and helpful website suggestions in all the books, and detailed “animal alphabets” with extra information in Dinosaur, Rainforest and Ocean.

Dinosaur looks fresh and encourages speculation - new dinosaur species are discovered every few months to join more than 300 that we already know about. They were “probably coloured and patterned for camouflage in their habitat”. Did you know that dinosaur scales did not overlap, but were fitted together like floor tiles?

Dramatic comparisons always appeal to young imaginations and Space is full of helpful analogy. Pluto and its moon Charon move and turn so that they are like “dancers twirling in space’’ and the Sun is “a fiery monster”.

Some of the fact boxes are difficult to decipher because of the mottled background. These books would be a useful library resource and provide flexible support to children’s work in KS2 science. Some children would enjoy browsing through the books at home.

Young readers are attracted by unusual and even disturbing aspects of nature. I’m not keen on encouraging children to think of animals as “weird” or “scary”, but Belitha’s Weird Wildlife series taps into older primary children’s desire to be intrigued and fascinated.

The books would appeal to most children at KS2, but teachers seeking material to tempt reluctant older learners may find this series particularly helpful. Plenty of strange phenomena are shown here, but the books also go beyond just listing interesting but miscellaneous facts - they explain important scientific principles as well.

Often it is the quirky characteristic of a creature that is the key to its survival. The frilled lizard in Reptile can raise the distinctive fan-like skin around its neck to seem a much bigger creature than it is and frighten predators away.

Symbiosis - living things nurturing and protecting each other - is helpfully introduced. For example, Plants shows ants living in a bull’s horn arcadia tree which feeds them and “in return, the ants defend the tree by stinging animals which try to eat it”.

Each book encourages children to develop their interest by suggesting absorbing projects and guiding them to relevant websites on the internet.

Margaret Mallett is visiting tutor in primary English at Goldsmiths’

College, London.