Shocking Science: 5,000 Years of Mishaps and Misunderstandings

by John Kelly, Steve Parker

Humorously explores the science of Ptolemy, Pliny, Galen, Newton, Mendel, and Volta, including failed constructions, accidental discoveries, and early medicine

63 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 1996

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Cindi P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to read science stories filled with the pages with zany illustrations. The stories are short paragraphs of interesting discoveries with “mishaps and misunderstandings,” as the subtitle states. This is a good book to read at bedtime to a child interested in science. It is also a good book for an upper elementary grade classroom to share.

[Jen Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK ALERT! Sometimes you get a kids' book out of the library that's been around for ages that you've never looked at, and have to conclude after reading it out loud to your child that its just A PERFECTLY SUBLIME SPECIMEN of its genre. The book is: "Shocking Science - 5,000 Years of Mishaps and Misunderstandings" written by Steve Parker, illustrated by John Kelly. It came out in 1996. The kids (and adult visitors and residents!) can't stop picking it up. There are sections on the history of map science, medical science, flying science, space science, dinosaur science, chemistry science, anatomy science and lots more. WELL WORTH SEEKING OUT! Utterly engrossing, funny, and illuminating!

[Neionie Pulido · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because of the illustrations and the clear connection to science content standards for fourth grade. I was able to then show them that science is performed in different ways and that science sometime does not get it right. Reading this in a fourth grade class could generate excitement for science

[Janice Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a broad and general book about science. I can have this book in my classroom so that my students can read and gain more information and interesting facts about science.