Magical Elements of the Periodic Table by Sybrina Durant #GuestPost #science #childrensnonfiction

Hello my fellow readers. Today I welcome to my blog a guest poster, Sybrina Durant. She is here to talk about her book and her insight into writing it. Welcome, Sybrina, take it away.

~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Where the Muse Leads, I Must Follow

By Sybrina Durant

Way back in the 1980’s my muse inserted an idea into my head to write a novel about a tribe of

12 metal horn unicorns with magical powers. Their powers were based on the properties of their

particular metal and how the metals were used in our everyday modern lives. I spent about 25

years world-building and refining the personalities and stories of each individual unicorn. That

charming book is still out there to be enjoyed by fantasy lovers.

Fast forward to 2022 and I decided I wanted to write an alphabet book. I don’t know why that

crazy muse of mine led me there but it just wouldn’t let go of the idea that, even though there

were already thousands of alphabet books in the world, it was my duty to introduce another one.

I decided a unicorn alphabet book would be cute and learned there were already over 50 of

those. Hmmm…more bad news for my book. How in the world could I make mine different?

Then the strangest thought struck. I could make it about unicorns and the periodic table. I

already had 12 metal horn unicorns representing different elements from the periodic table. All I

needed were 14 more to have a book representing all 26 letters of the alphabet. Yay!

Except I soon hit another roadblock. Turns out, not all letters of the alphabet are represented in

the periodic table. Who knew? Well, a lot of scientifically inclined individuals might know, but I

didn’t. And I was inclined to stop right there but my muse kept harassing me to figure something

out. What to do? I started researching what certain elements were called in other languages and

found enough that started with the missing alphabet letters that allowed me to finish the book.

Success! Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented by The Metal Horn Unicorns was

born.

That soon made me realize that I couldn’t quit there. After all, that book only represented 26

letters of the alphabet and there are 118 elements in the periodic table. A monumental task

stood in front of me. What in the world was that extremely pushy muse thinking? I guess she

thought that I was up for the task.

I went on to write another “alphabet” book about 26 more elements of the periodic table which

was presented by Elemental Dragons. Then, came this book, Magical Elements of the Periodic

Table Presented By The Alchemical Wizards – Book 1 in which I completely abandoned the

alphabet theme. And in case you’re wondering, there will be a book 2 featuring wizards and

their elements. It will be published later this year. Shortly after that, I’ll be publishing the last

book in the series which will finish out the periodic table and will be presented by Actinide

Knights and Radioactive Goblins.

To make it even more fun filled, I’ve created activity pages, trading cards, an elemental periodic

table poster and even an elemental bingo game featuring all of these characters and the

elements they represent. Visit my website (https://www.magicalptelements.com) to browse all

of those things and more, plus while you’re there, click the links at the top of the page to access

my research pages so you can easily check my facts and learn more on your own about each

element.

You never know where your muse will lead you but it is usually to something wonderful. When I

created my magical metal horn unicorn tribe 40 years ago, I had no idea I would one day create

illustrated periodic table books meant to inspire kids to want to learn more about the world of

science. Researching these elements has certainly inspired me to keep learning. I truly hope it has that

 same positive effect on all who read them.

Cleo Can Tie A Bow by Sybrina Durant #childrenfiction #childhoodskills #picturebooks

Synopsis:

Cleo loves bows. She wears her hair in a bow and decorates her room with bows. Cleo is bow crazy.
Learning to tie a bow is very difficult for some people but Cleo remembers how to do it from a cute story she once heard. It is about a little rabbit with very long ears and a very helpful fox who shows her what to do to keep them clean. This is the story of how Cleo learns to tie a “bunny ear” bow.

My review:

This is one of those books that I have gone back and forth on. I do like this book and how it is very interactive. In a nut shell, it teaches children how to tie a bow. The premise is essentially for children to learn to tie their shoes. That in itself is a good thing and a skill all children need.

I did however, have a couple of problems with the book. The first was a very scary looking fox that looks like he will eat the bunny, but turns out to be friendly to all animals. That right there is confusing enough. Then the fox teaches a bunny how to tie her ears up.   The author in the back of the book tells this is not a good idea in real life and may hurt a real bunny. Children often imitate what they see and in spite of a warning, they could very well try to do on any animal with long ears. It might have been better not to include this or at least a different way.

My second problem was this book is extremely "girly".  Stereotypes are running rapid throughout the whole book. Everything with pink colors, dresses, long hair, bows, butterflies and adorable stuffed animals is completely throughout this book.   I cannot see a male child or even a child that does not look like her relating at all.

The pluses to this book though are the premise that I spoke above about. On the back cover, it states that children can work on their dexterity which is also correct with this new learned skill. I also liked that the book shows how ones imagination can turn into something extremely positive. For example, the fox and bunny are stuffed animals that Cleo has in her room.

I also like the large illustrations with few words, which makes this a picture book aimed at younger children. I think a child older than 6 would need more but yet, if they are learning to tie their shoes, it is a good resources and easily understood.

This book is a solid 3 stars for me.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Goodreads