Science Comics! Making up for my 48th-in-the-nation-in-STEM-education-education. (Only partly joking about that, teachers.) I’m serious about this, though: these comics are neat!
Science Comics include a wide variety of representations! This comic has a multigender, multicultural number of characters in non-stereotypical roles, which is also something different from when I was 8-12 years of age. I wish we had had them when I was little. These comics try to include a whole bunch of science information in a short space. This issue has 119 pages. As in my previous Periodical Table review, the comic is text heavy, has asymmetrical panels, comical drawings to help solidify the lesson, and uses well-known (to kids) tropes to make the lessons clear. This comic uses mecha-transformer-type robots and rampaging monsters to introduce the principles of electricity, like voltage (volts), current (amps) and resistance (ohms). A young (and very punk-looking) girl named Julie must help her engineer uncle Niko repair the electricity substation when a battle between their mecha and a somewhat goofy-looking monster takes down their grid.
Many subtle middle-age winks made me smile, and parents will like the two-layered humor when reading this with their kids. An example:
In explaining the types of potential and kinetic energy on page 22:
Niko: “Huh. These looked different when I was a kid.”
Julie, with eyerolls: “There’s been a reboot.”
Niko: “Looks like the city’s hero is coming out of retirement! *squnch*…The city’s hero used to be more flexible.”
I think the writing and the story flow better in this comic than the Periodical Table one. For example, on p. 50-51 is a very funny way to explain how solar panels work. Equally amusing stories depict how and why different deliverers of energy work like they do, like natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, and hydroelectric plants. I’m sure the snarky self-assured teenage comments from Julie (“Ya’ll used this for HOW long?”) hit home with her uncle. (How far does that mecha’s electrical cord stretch, anyway?)
Kids will likely be the generation that will deal with climate change and this comic takes that issue head-on. Blackouts and other climate change-induced problems will probably increase, especially when the security of the electrical grid is increasingly discussed in places like California, Texas, and Florida, and this part of the comic teaches students this. The comic stays on the positive side, though, explaining that we can begin to improve things with newer technology currently being invented and refined.
The comic includes an introduction, a glossary of terms used in the book, and is brightly colored through all the panels and pages. I reviewed the pre-published online version, but if its release is like the previous Science Comics, it will be sturdily bound and will hold up to many circulations. Recommended for middle school and public libraries.
Science Comics: Electricity: Energy in Action
By Andy Hirsch
First Second, 2023
ISBN: 9781250265852
Publisher Age Rating: 9-13
Series ISBNs and Order
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
