Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Myim Bialik's take on the science of the Flash is quite cool for kids who are interested in learning how things work behind the scenes. It's fun, feels fresh and is a great gateway to reading more about science. What's not to love?

2 stars - Finished, but didn't like; some issues

I received three chapters from this book of science and technology facts. The first starred The Flash who talked about crime scene investigation. The second starred Cyborg and Beast Boy who talked about virtual reality technology. The third starred Swamp Thing and Swamp Kid talking about various feats of human adaptation in extreme circumstances.

This was disappointing. The comics/stories felt like forced vehicles for sharing the science and technology facts. The Flash one was the best of the three. Alone, I would have given that one 3 or 3.5 stars. It's still information dense, and I'm not sure the average middle grade reader - especially the younger ones - would push through all of that density. But it was interesting, the facts fit the character and context, and there was a fun "can you use these clues to find the culprit" piece at the end.

The second story left me feeling like Beast Boy who just wanted to enjoy his game but Cyborg forced him to listen to VR explanations. Cyborg was answering questions Beast Boy never asked. If it had been Robin (from Teen Titans Go), this might have been an attempt at humor. Robin is always droning on about things the gang doesn't care about. But here it just felt so forced and not fun. It was almost painful.

The third felt scattered. The pieces were only loosely tied together by the Swamp Kid character who was consistent for the three parts, but, again, there was no engaging STORY to keep the pieces together.

I had high hopes for this. There are several nonfiction graphic novel series that handle the factual content in ways that are engaging for kids - Science Comics, Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. I had hoped that this would be similar - fun stories with familiar DC characters who convey science and technology facts in a way that gets kids excited to know more. There will be a subset of kids who will love this - who already enjoy books with lots of facts, or who want to know more about crime scenes or VR or some of the other topics covered in the whole book. I'm afraid that kids who pick this up because they love the DC characters will be disappointed to not find engaging stories to go with the facts.

I loved this ebook about Flash- mostly because my son was so captivated by it! He gives it 2 super fast thumbs up!

I had a lot of fun reading this graphic novel. It followed many well known heroes as they solved cases and they used science along the way. This was a great way to make each story a good one and it was cool how each one came to an end. Fans young and old will have a great time reading this graphic novel.

Each of the stories collected in Flash Facts include a variety of DC superheroes each with their own STEM topic. It’s not purely an information dump; there is some plot involved in each story as well. It reminds me a bit of the Magic School Bus series I read when I was a kid. I was always more of a English and History person than I was Math and Science, but books like these did fascinate me as a child. It’s very possible that if this book existed when I was young, I would have been more interested in STEM topics.

One of my favorite stories in this collection is, “If You Can’t Take the Heat,” written by twins Varian and Darian Johnson and drawn by Vic Regis. The story features Batman and Plastic Man trying to take down the villain Firefly. Unfortunately, Plastic Man accidentally revealed their position and Firefly got away. Thankfully, due to Batman’s quick thinking he was able to make Bat-armor that could withstand Firefly’s flames by using a 3D printer. Throughout the story, Batman explains to Plastic Man how 3D printing works. What Batman uses for his base material is the best part!

At the end of the book there are links to additional resources that parents and children can access for more information, along with a number of science experiments that go along with the subjects covered throughout. A note for parents: some of these experiments, depending on the age of the child, should have parent supervision to complete.

I would highly recommend Flash Facts for children who are both interested and not so interested in STEM topics. There’s truly something for everyone to enjoy. I hope to see DC Comics do more graphic novels for kids that touch on educational topics in the future. I think they could prove to be a valuable learning resource for educators, parents, and children alike.

My full review can be found here: https://thegeekiary.com/superhero-stem-stories-for-kids-flash-facts-graphic-novel-review/91702

Thank you for letting my 10 yr old and I read a sample of the upcoming book, Flash Facts. He is big DC fan and enjoyed this sample, however his favorite parts were of Cyborg and Beast Boy, they are so funny and they helped get this book to 5 stars from him.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. All spelling and grammar errors in this review are totally my own.

What a great way to read about STEM topics. I love the integration of the superheroes with the science topics. I think kids will strongly connect with this format and be engaged. I look forward to introducing this to students.

Overall, I love the idea of this book and I look forward to reading more than just 3 chapters to see if it continues to not disappoint. I don't think I've ever come across a book that covers all of these random, interesting subjects: VR and holding your breath under water. I had never heard of the Bajau people of Southeast Asia, but I am utterly fascinated.

For Libraries: This is a great blend of comics and nonfiction that should definitely have appeal. As this was a 3 chapter preview, I cannot speak to whether it has additional resources or any backmatter in the book, but fingers crossed.

Thank you for the opportunity to review an excerpt from this upcoming publication. I am familiar with the editor/author from her roles in television and popular science promos. I think that this sample was indicative of a promising collection of educational and informative comic-style stories led by popular fictional series characters. I was actually surprised to see the Teen Titans, I had just thought it was The Flash. I’d be interested to see the rest.

This snippet of the full book definitely leaves me wanting the whole thing. Perfect to get fans of superheroes reading more nonfiction!

This non fiction title uses superheroes and fun illustrations to explain concepts like forensic science and virtual reality. I really liked how each of the sections was draw by a different illustrator and all had a different one, while still relying good information. In the sample chapters, all the information was very well researched and descriptive. The way it was conveyed will also very much appeal to children and also teens, This will be a great book for students who need to read a non fiction book but do not enjoy reading.