Science Comics: Electricity: Energy in Action

Science Comics

by Andy Hirsch

Get a charge out of Electricity , a new edition to the Science Comics series!

Giant monsters are on the warpath, and it’s Menlo the mech’s job to protect the city! But when this metal marvel is shut down by an unlucky lightning strike, a resourceful engineer and his high-energy niece will have to find a way to plug in and power up to save everyone from certain doom!

From simple circuits to giant grids, fossil fuel power plants to wind farms, electricity keeps the world running. In Science Electricity , you’ll discover where electricity comes from, why lightning suddenly strikes, and how we’ve harnessed it all to turn the lights on in your room. Ready for action? Get energized with electricity!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Science, Nonfiction, Comics, Middle Grade, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2023

About the author

Andy Hirsch is a cartoonist living in Dallas, Texas. He is the author and artist of a stack of entries in hit series Science Comics from First Second Books, covering topics from dogs to geology to outer space. His most recent book, Good Boy, follows a mismatched boy and his dog as they overcome obstacles from bar jumps to anxiety dreams in the exciting world of canine sports. His work is consistently selected by the Junior Library Guild and has appeared on the American Library Association's Best Graphic Novels for Children reading list.

Reviews

[one.entity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ogromne potwory sieją spustoszenie. Tylko robot bojowy Menlo może obronić miasto! Zostaje jednak unieruchomiony w wyniku uderzenia pioruna. Teraz pewien pomysłowy inżynier oraz jego nad wyraz energiczna siostrzenica muszą wykorzystać całą swoją wiedzę o elektryczności, by zapobiec katastrofie!

Z komiksem można spędzić jedno popołudnie i dobrze się przy nim bawić. Jest w niej strasznie dużo informacji, które warto zapamiętać. Przykładowo: elektrony, protony, neutrony. Do tego dochodzi wiedza o energii, czy jest potencjalna czy kinetyczna. Nie zapominając przy tym o napięciu i natężeniu. 

W naukomiks znajdziemy i wiedzę i zabawę. W tym spotykamy się z walką robota z potworami, które atakują dane jednostki i miejsca, które wytwarzają potrzebną energię do wytworzenia elektryczności i nie tylko. 

Osobiście dobrze było czytać o tym, że pomimo prób i walki udaje się powstrzymać potwory przed jeszcze większymi stratami!
Wiedza teoretyczna o elektryczności także musi iść w parze z wiedzą praktyczną.

Jako "ścisłowiec" ze szkoły podstawowej oraz gimnazjalnej jest bardzo na tak, że takie naukomiksy powstawają! 
Może pokażę ten komis chrześnicy jak już będzie na tyle dorosła by mogła cokolwiek z tego zrozumieć.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introduction to electricity and how various methods create electricity with a background story of a kaiju monster attacking a town and a mech robot being needed to stop it but there's a storm going on and the mech needs electricity.

First off, kudos to Hirsch for the creative setup story that provides an opportunity to need to understand all these electrical components and generation methods. I liked the creative wrapping. The former science teacher in me was a bit dissatisfied by how this explained how an electric charge is built up. It felt overly simplified to the point when it didn't fully make sense. It isn't that hard a concept to explain, especially when you can have illustrations so I was disappointed. It does do a good job of explaining what creates a flow of electricity and an especially good job of explaining the difference between alternating current and direct current and when each is more useful. It also did a fairly good job of explaining how solar cells work along with other methods of alternate energy. For an introduction to electricity generating methods, this is a good choice.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Fantasy monster on robot battle, with only property destruction and a monster getting zapped.
Ethnic diversity: The humans appear to be White.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: The pros/cons for various energy sources doesn't include anything about materials needed to make solar cells, wind turbines, etc. Supplemental sources may be needed to fully understand electric charge and the pros/cons of energy sources.

[Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the illustrations and the explanations are decent. It's a bit technical, though - maybe more appropriate for middle schoolers and up (although younger students who are into this sort of thing will probably like it). The monster back story is sort of goofy. I almost wish it was just nonfiction, but I'm sure this will appeal to the intended audience a bit better. ;-) If you are using this in your homeschool, you'll definitely want to find some YouTube videos to show some of the concepts being explained in the book. I think some of them need a video component to be a bit more clear.
The book covers the basics (atoms and their charges), static electricity, lightning, voltage and current, conductors, insulators, resistance, circuits, types of energy, magnets, commutators, direct current, alternating current, resistors, diodes, motors and generators, photovoltaic cells, inverters, volts/amps/watts, the electrical grid, turbines, nuclear power plants, geothermal power, wind turbines, parabolic troughs, hydroelectric dams, fossil fuels, biofuels, and gravitational energy. It's a ton of info and explanations packed into a fun comic. :-)

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine introduction to the concepts of electricity (how it's generated, stored, and transferred), though the kid-friendly framing story overwhelms some of the headier concepts. You're not really going to come away with much knowledge unless you're taking notes. The diagrams showing how current travels are mostly useless too.

Still, it's a fun read for the framing story alone, which features mechs and a precocious young girl on a science adventure. Just wish more of the actual learning stuck with me.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first time in the Science Comics series that I feel like the framing device was executed much better than the science content. I don't know if I learned very much, because I was kind of struggling to follow. I'm not sure if this is an interest issue on my part, but I do see other reviews taking issue with the presentation of the science. At least the framing device was fun, an action packed mech vs. kaiju fight. The last 30 or so pages were definitely more engaging than the rest of the book, but overall not the best of the Science Comics series.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the science comics books are becoming directed to an older audience than before. This one is about electricity and spends a lot of time going over the various ways that humans harness electricity for their own uses. Some of the same information as Magic School Bus but updated to be near-futuristic, after humans stop using fossil fuels.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these science comics have a definite framing device. Much of the time this framing device detracts. This one with Kaijus and Mechas definitely added. The story was fun and readable. The information came in fast and furious but never too much to take. And the characters felt fairly real. A better intro to electricity than I was expecting.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

One of my favorite Science Comics. Information was presented in a way that was easy to understand and the story was engaging but also was able to seamlessly incorporate the learning about electricity.

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. This finished my BYL reading challenge for 2023. I liked the story and the info was pretty good. I wish it was a bit more in-depth. Usually science comics go s bit beyond surface level, but this one was pretty surface level. Still good for kids learning about electricity.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the Pacific Rim bent to this!

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids love this series and I dove into this to brush up on my basic electrical knowledge.

[Raj Bowers-Racine · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best framing narratives in all Science Comics: mech/kaiju battling.

[Benjamin]

How? Another Science Comic, this one ordered especially for the kid because... I can't remember, we were talking about electricity? Anyway, when it came in, we interrupted Bats to start this.

What? In the future, it's Pacific Rim: giant robots fight monsters. Only the robots are automated mechs, and an old pilot is now caretaker both for the mech and his niece on vacation. When disaster strikes, the two of them have to discuss electrical principles while fighting off the monster.

Yeah, so? The story here is... a fine excuse to get into this stuff. The organization of the book is pretty good, starting with principles of electricity (volts, amps, ohms, AC, DC), and moving on to different sorts of generators (fossil fuel, solar, wind, water, geothermal, et al.). I'm sure I learned stuff, though a few of the panels had not-so-clear layout, and I probably still need a refresher on volts, amps, and ohms. Still, kiddo and I got to point out a three-phase powerline today on a hike, so that's nice.

***

Reread: Got kiddo some Snap Circuits for Hanukkah, need a refresher on electricity.