Complex concepts broken down into bite-sized sections are one of the best ways to learn when the subject is not your forte. I ended up enjoying this collection of thoughtful answers to common questions because the author broke everything down into layman's terms without seemingly much effort. At no point did it feel the author was talking down to the reader, but was instead passionate about the subject matter and wanted to bring the audience in on the fun.

I like this book. I thought the questions were interesting. I love the artwork on each question. I think this book isn't for everyone. I understand a lot of what Leah was talking about, but I can see some people getting lost in some of the terminology. But overall, I recommend this book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61812902-there-are-no-stupid-questions-in-science
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/d9d39c13-8e39-4e31-9ed8-06298402ee27

This is a great little compilation of interesting science knowledge. I will enjoy getting a copy to have in my classroom to let my students peruse.

Let’s say you’re out walking in your garden watching bees pollinate the flowers and you start worrying about the little critters, wondering if they are dying off. And that leads you to ponder, for whatever crazy reason, whether honey is made from bee poo. Well it just so happens that “There are (No) Stupid Questions…in Science” by Leah Elson has answers to both questions and about a hundred more. Written to inform with a breezy style and with a scattershot sense of humor that sometimes might tickle an adolescent’s funny bone and other times would only make sense to an adult.

The topics are wide-ranging and interesting—my favorites were Tardigrades (fascinating little creatures that I’m going to learn more about); finding out that the vacuum of space has an odor (not in a million years would I have thought of that question); and that yes, you can die of a broken heart (not a common death otherwise there'd be a lot fewer country music singers).

The illustrations, also by Elson, are fun and often funny.

This book is like potato chips in that once you start reading you can’t stop at just one topic!

Recommended at 5 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: This book is an advance review copy (ARC) that I was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There Are (No) Stupid Questions … in Science is written and illustrated by Leah Elson.

With a quick glance at the book, the illustrations kind of give the sense of the book being written for children; but the book is categorized as: Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction (Adult), Science.

The format of the book is to provide a science related question and then for the author to answer the question in a page or two. Included in the answer is an illustration. The author typically includes a some sort of personal tidbit (usually at the very end of the answer). In answering the question, "Does singing to plants really help them grow?" the author includes a comment asking if singing perfectly pitched Journey vocal is dating herself; I thought about what age group would not grasp that reference (definitely not children). But the book isn’t aimed for children.

And then a question or so later, "Why are men taller than women?” is concluded with “(name)- you six-foot-eight bastard.” (referring to someone she went to school with)

The questions are answered pretty thoroughly (in as much as you can in a couple pages), but I found the quirky personal commentary a bit weird. I would recommend that you read a question and answer and if you enjoy that question, you will probably like the book.

The book that was reviewed is the advance review copy and was about 236 pages. Over 30 pages were blank; not sure why, maybe because you wouldn't want to start a question on an odd page ... or maybe so that the author could add additional information to further answer some of the questions ... or maybe space to add additional illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author Leah Elson, MS, MPH and the publisher Blackstone Publishing. Publication date of 27 June 2023 is expected.