Superman Science: The Real-World Science Behind Superman's Powers

by Agnieszka Biskup, Tammy Enz

Overview

Superman is the World's Greatest Hero! With super-strength, lightning speed, laser vision, and the ability to fly, he keeps Earth safe. But what is the science behind strength, speed, sight, and flight? And does anything or anyone in our world have similar abilities to Superman? Superman Science explores how real-life science and engineering relates to the Man of Steel's famous powers—and the real-world connections may surprise you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623707033
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Agnieszka Biskup is a writer and editor based in Chicago. She is a former science editor at the Boston Globe as well as a Knight Fellow at MIT, where she studied science journalism. She served as managing editor of the children's magazine Muse and has written numerous children’s books in addition to many articles for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Her books have received awards from Learning magazine, the Association of Educational Publishers, the Society of School Librarians International, and have been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. She is also a winner of the 2015 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award in the Writing for Children category.
Tammy Enz holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications. She teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and has written dozens of books on science and engineering topics for young people.

Editorial Reviews

Science facts are presented in bite-sized chunks ideal for kids’ attention spans, accompanied by colorful photographs and illustrations. This is one of those books that can be picked up and flipped through time and time again, finding an interesting factoid every time. Celebrating forces of nature, feats of engineering, and the strength of the human body alongside Superman makes Superman Science a great reminder that the real world is just as amazing at the one in comic books.

Geek Dad

The authors found a great hook to make science cool — Superman. Learn about flight, sight, speed, and strength all within the framework of superman. Text boxes accompanied by color photographs, illustrations, and backgrounds make this a digestible and interesting nonfiction science book. (Also check out Batman Science to learn about engineering vehicles, body armor, wings, and more.)

Imagination Soup

In this science book readers learn about flight, X-rays, speed, strength, and more. The text is broken down into examinations of each power Superman has at his disposal and expands upon it with real-world science. . . .The information is presented in easily digestible paragraphs that can be read discretely. Small scientists can read about one area or several with ease. . . .A serviceable science text for curious and nerdy readers.

Kirkus Reviews

STEM connections abound. . . .Illustrations, faithful to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s original comic-book stylings, share space with full-color photographs for a highly engaging layout. In the margins, trivia about Superman’s origins and abilities are offered and will satisfy comic-book fans. By celebrating the most iconic superhero of all time, Biskup is inspiring the next generation of engineers and generating excitement about future scientific advancement.

Booklist

2016-12-14
The Man of Steel helps kids learn about science.Superman can fly, see through walls, outrun bullets, and stop runaway trains. His powers may be out-of-this-world, but the science behind each power is rooted in reality. In this science book readers learn about flight, X-rays, speed, strength, and more. The text is broken down into examinations of each power Superman has at his disposal and expands upon it with real-world science. Young readers curious about flight will learn about physics, aerodynamics, the history of humans in flight, etc. Readers interested in Superman's supervision can read about human and animal eyes, various technological enhancements of sight, and so forth. The information is presented in easily digestible paragraphs that can be read discretely. Small scientists can read about one area or several with ease. The book's layout is a bit ho-hum, in contrast to its subject. Various shades of blue provide a backdrop for text boxes, unremarkable photographs, and drawings. Images of Superman (seemingly modeled after Bruce Timm's take on the character from the 1990s cartoon Superman: The Animated Series) pop up here and there, but they don't interact with or comment on the information presented. There's no stylistic difference in the design among topics, which makes flipping through the book a bit of a drab chore. A serviceable science text for curious and nerdy readers. (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews